lililllii 


il— —WW 

I  BBS  11 
m      IB 

IHiHiH; 


1 


1  1    I!  PI  I iHH! 


1 


I 

I 


JHHHH 

MHHh 

JZiltilKBlUUmifl 


1911     BHii 


BV  4211  .H7  1905 

"l924  APthUr  Stephen'  1851 

The  work  of  preaching 


THE  WORK   OF  PREACHING 


A  BOOK  FOR  THE  CLASS-ROOM 
AND  STUDY 


BY 


ARTHUR  S.  HOYT,  D.D. 

PBOFE880B   OF   HOMILETICS   AND   SOCIOLOGY   LN  THE  AUBUBN 
THEOLOGICAL  SEMINABY 


Nefo  gork 
THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

LONDON :  MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 
1905 

All  rights  reserved 


0 


** 


COPYRIGHT,    1905, 

By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  December,  1905. 


Nortoooti  i9«B8 

J.  S.  Cashing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO  THE  MEN  OF  MY  CLASSES,  WHO 
HAVE  HELPED  TO  MAKE  TEACHING 
AN  INCREASING  PRIVILEGE  AND  JOY. 


PREFACE 

The  perpetual  function  and  interest  of 
preaching  must  be  the  justification  for  the 
appearance  of  a  new  book  in  a  field  already 
so  well  rilled.  No  book  of  the  past,  however 
helpful,  can  wholly  meet  the  need  of  a  calling 
that  grows  in  difficulty  and  importance  with 
every  age. 

Preaching  must  be  a  living  voice;  like  any 
other  form  of  public  speech  it  must  be  sensi- 
tive to  the  life  of  the  age.  The  active,  prac- 
tical spirit  of  the  age,  the  scientific  temper 
seeking  for  deeper  realities,  have  made  men 
impatient  of  the  stately  and  formal  correctness 
of  the  older  sermon  and  critical  of  any  fixed 
form  of  the  schools,  asking  for  directness  and 
helpfulness,  and,  above  all,  the  personal  note 
in  preaching. 

The  Homiletics  in  use  in  the  schools  is  largely 
the  expression  of  the  past,  much  of  it  perennial 
as  the  laws  of  thought  and  speech,  and  much 
outgrown  in  the  changing  life  of  men.  It  is 
right,  therefore,  that  an  effort  should  be  made 
to  voice  the  best  pulpit  life  of  to-day ;  to  study 
and  express  its  ideals  and  principles  of  effective 
vii 


viii  Preface 

speech.  The  present  volume  makes  little  claim 
to  originality,  but  does  attempt  the  interpre- 
tation of  preaching  as  a  living  message. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  state  the  author's 
indebtedness  to  the  teachers  of  his!  youth  and 
to  the  many  writers  upon  preaching  and  kin- 
dred themes.  Many,  no  doubt,  will  find  echoes 
of  their  thought  in  these  pages.  But  grateful 
mention  must  be  made  of  one  teacher,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  of  Chicago,  whose  fire 
has  kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  a  generation  of 
preachers  for  their  chosen  work.  And  grateful 
acknowledgment  is  due  to  the  Yale  Lecturers 
on  Preaching  (the  richest  contributors  to  the 
literature  of  preaching),  and  above  the  long 
and  notable  list  to  the  ideal  and  example  of 
Phillips  Brooks. 

Every  teacher  of  Homiletics  will  wish  to 
have  his  own  method;  but  the  book  is  sent 
forth  with  the  hope  that  it  may  be  found  help- 
ful as  a  book  of  reference  and  supplemental 
reading,  and  that  it  may  find  acceptance  be- 
yond the  walls  of  the  seminary  with  busy  men 
in  the  ministry,  helping  them  to  measure  their 
work  and  to  renew  their  ideal  of  preaching 
and  their  faith  in  its  power. 

ARTHUR  S.  HOYT. 
October  10,  1905. 


CONTENTS 


LECTtTBS 

PAGE 

I. 

The  Importance  of  Preaching     . 

1 

II. 

The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

21 

III. 

The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

47 

IV. 

Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

85 

V. 

Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching    . 

119 

VI. 

Scripture    Authority    in    Preaching 

(continued)        .        . 

141 

VII. 

The  Introduction 

. 

157 

VIII. 

The  Development 

. 

171 

IX. 

The  Conclusion 

195 

X. 

Explanation 

. 

209 

XI. 

Argument  . 

. 

223 

XII. 

Illustration 

239 

xin. 

Persuasion 

257 

XIV. 

Preaching  with  Manuscript 

275 

XV. 

Extemporaneous  Preaching  . 

291 

XVI. 

The  Oral  Style 

311 

XVII. 

The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

327 

Index 

349 

LECTURE  I 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  PREACHING 


OUTLINE 

1.  The  conditions  that  seem  to  lessen  the  importance  of 
preaching. 

a  The  pulpit  is  no  longer  the  chief  intellectual  leader. 
6  The  pulpit  is  not  always  the  chief  spiritual  teacher.    The 

multiplied  agencies  of  instruction  and  the  broadened 

conception  of  spiritual  life. 

2.  The  forces  that  seem  hostile  to  preaching. 

a  The  materialistic  spirit  of  the  age ;  the  love  of  gain  and 
love  of  pleasure. 

b  The  social  unrest.  The  industrial  changes  and  the  dem- 
ocratic movement. 

c  The  critical  spirit;  not  irreligious  hut  non-religious. 
These  forces  make  the  work  of  the  preacher  hard. 
Hence  the  need  of  a  higher  conception,  the  divine- 
ness  of  preaching. 

3.  The  Scripture  warrant  for  preaching. 

a  The  work  of  the  prophets. 

6  The  life  and  word  of  Christ. 

c   The  example  and  teaching  of  the  Apostles. 

4.  The  testimony  of  the  Church. 

a  The  beginning  of  the  Church. 

6   Its  victories  over  heathenism. 

c   The  enlargement  of  its  life. 

d  The  spiritual  and  aggressive  eras  of  Christianity. 

e   The  higher  life  of  society. 

5.  The  Law  of  the  Incarnation.  Spiritual  life  to  be  propagated 
by  personal  influence.  Speech  the  chief  agency :  the  psycho- 
logical reason. 

6.  Hence  the  perpetuity  of  preaching. 

7.  Call  to  higher  conception  and  more  singleness  of  service. 

References  : 

Fletcher.    "Chapters  on  Preaching."    1. 
Phillips  Brooks.     "  Lectures  on  Preaching."    7. 
Greer.    "  The  Preacher  and  his  Place."    1,  2. 
Van  Dyke.    "  The  Gospel  for  an  Age  of  Doubt."    1. 
Tucker.    *  The  Making  and  the  Unmaking  of  the 
Preacher."    1. 
2 


LECTUEE  I 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  PREACHING 

It  seems  to  be  a  hard  time  for  the  preacher. 
The  habit  of  church-going  has  not  been  main- 
tained, or  has  not  kept  pace  with  our  rapidly 
increasing  population,  and  preachers  generally 
complain  of  small  congregations.  The  Church 
has  suffered  a  decline  in  its  conception  of 
preaching,  and  the  world  outside  hears  little 
call  of  God  in  it.  The  preacher  would  be 
more  than  a  man  if  he  were  not  affected  by 
his  environment,  and  sometimes  suffered  his 
enthusiasm  to  be  chilled  and  the  divineness  of 
his  work  to  be  somewhat  dimmed. 

What  Forces  to-day  affect  the  Pulpit  and 
seem  to  lessen  the  Importance  of  its  Work?  — 

The  pulpit  is  no  longer  the  chief  intellectual 
teacher  of  the  community.  The  newspaper, 
the  magazine,  the  book,  the  school,  the  club, 
meet  the  intellectual  needs  of  men.  The 
3 


4  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

preacher  is  no  longer  the  parson,  the  chief  per- 
son of  the  town,  but  one  of  many  equally  well- 
trained  men,  whose  intellectual  life  may  be 
largely  independent  of  the  pulpit.  The  growth 
of  education,  the  diffusion  of  culture,  touches 
the  position  and  power  of  the  pulpit. 

Moreover,  the  pulpit  is  not  alone  nor 
always  supreme  as  the  teacher  of  spiritual  life. 
There  has  been  a  widening  of  the  conception 
of  the  spiritual  life  and  a  great  increase  of  the 
ways  of  spiritual  teaching.  Literature  has  be- 
come the  soul's  teacher.  Poetry,  fiction,  the 
essay,  feed  the  higher  life  of  man.  The  best 
weekly  journals  give  the  Christian  interpreta- 
tion of  life,  and  are  found  in  homes  where  the 
voice  of  the  preacher  is  rarely  heard.  Essays 
like  those  of  Mr.  Hamilton  Mabie  or  sermons 
like  those  of  Bishop  Phillips  Brooks  are  read 
by  men  who  rarely  hear  the  preacher's  voice. 

The  trials  of  the  modern  pulpit  must  not  all 
be  attributed  to  a  decline  in  the  religious  life 
of  the  people.  That  our  religious  life  is  pass- 
ing through  a  transition  no  thoughtful  man 
can  doubt;  that  it  may  be  a  transition  to 
larger  things  is  the  prayer  and  hope  of  faith. 
It  may  be  that  the  pulpit  itself  has  sometimes 
failed  of  the  "  open  vision  "  and  the  prophetic 
spirit. 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  5 

There  are  Forces  that  are  distinctly  Hostile 
to  Preaching.  —  We  must  honestly  face  these 
facts,  if  we  would  understand  our  work.  We 
must  have  an  understanding  of  the  times,  if  we 
would  speak  to  the  hearts  of  men. 

Our  age  has  three  characteristics  easily  dis- 
cerned: its  absorbing  interest  in  this  world, 
its  social  unrest,  and  its  critical  spirit. 

Never  before  was  there  such  interest  in  all 
that  concerns  this  world.  As  in  the  times 
of  Elizabeth  and  Raleigh  and  Shakspere  sci- 
ence, inventions,  the  discovery  of  new  lands, 
made  a  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  and  man's 
life  on  earth  an  absorbing  drama,  so  now  the 
more  wonderful  discoveries  and  inventions 
make  this  world  supreme  in  the  thoughts  of 
men.  Never  before  has  the  earth  been  so  real 
and  so  attractive  and  so  much  in  the  possession 
of  men.  Whatever  concerns  the  earth  and 
man's  place  and  work  on  the  earth  wins  the 
thought  of  our  age.  Charles  Kingsley  called 
it  the  most  sensuous  age  since  the  Goths  and 
Huns  overran  the  Roman  Empire.  The  mate- 
rialistic spirit  is  seen  in  love  of  gain  and  love 
of  pleasure,  the  complements  of  each  other,  the 
action  and  reaction. 

The  great  opportunities  of  the  New  World, 
the  eagerness  of  its  climate,  the  energy  of  its 


6  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

races,  have  united  to  emphasize  the  material 
side  of  life.  The  vast  fortunes  made  in  a  gen- 
eration, the  increasing  number  of  the  good 
things  of  this  life  secured  by  wealth,  have 
given  to  it  a  greater  importance  and  made  the 
industrial  development  of  the  race  seem  to  be 
the  supreme  thing.  Men  are  practical  materi- 
alists. They  may  not  reject  the  doctrine  of 
God  and  the  spiritual  life,  —  they  may  conform 
to  the  religious  habits  of  Christianity,  —  but 
they  practically  reject  the  practice  of  God  and 
the  spiritual  life.  The  world  of  the  senses  is 
very  real  —  the  world  of  the  spirit  is  vague  and 
unreal.  The  mind  of  the  age  is  prepossessed, 
and  the  messenger  of  the  spiritual  may  find  it 
difficult  to  gain  attention  to  his  message. 

And  then  a  growing  love  of  pleasure  is  char- 
acteristic of  our  national  life.  No  doubt  it  is 
in  part  a  wholesome  reaction  from  the  undue 
seriousness  of  our  Puritan  ancestors,  a  neces- 
sary demand  of  the  nature  of  man,  in  part  also 
the  removal  of  our  isolation  and  the  enlarging 
of  our  experience  in  contact  with  other  people's 
and  social  ideals ;  but  in  a  still  larger  degree  it 
is  a  result  of  the  dominance  of  the  senses  and 
our  strenuous  industrial  life.  Men  must  find 
relief  from  the  pressure  and  monotony  of  the 
minute  division  of  work  and  from  the  congested 


Tlie  Importance  of  Preaching  7 

conditions  of  great  cities ;  the  instinct  of  play- 
asserts  itself,  and  the  demand  for  recreation 
breaks  the  old  bonds  of  social  and  religious 
habits,  and  makes  a  transitional,  if  not  critical, 
time  in  American  life.  The  crowds  of  youth 
dancing  on  public  platforms  with  the  light- 
headedness of  Southern  Europe,  the  million 
people  that  go  out  of  New  York  every  pleasant 
Sunday,  by  rail  and  steamer  and  wheel,  for 
their  weekly  holiday,  are  a  warning  and  a 
challenge  to  the  pulpit  that  it  has  to  do  with 
new  conditions.  It  is  not  easy  for  a  preacher 
to  get  the  ear  of  a  people  bent  upon  pleasure. 

Blended  with  these  materialistic  forces, 
partly  their  outcome,  partly  directed  by  a 
higher  spirit,  is  the  social  unrest  of  the  time. 
The  teachings  of  Christianity,  united  with  the 
Industrial  Revolution,  tend  to  break  the  power 
of  privilege  and  precedent  and  give  strength  to 
the  democratic  movement,  the  effort  to  assert 
and  gain  the  rights  of  the  "downmost"  man. 
The  loosening  of  old  populations  and  ties,  the 
rapid  influx  of  foreign  peoples,  the  rapid  growth 
of  cities,  the  widespread  organization  of  indus- 
try, have  lessened  the  personal  relation  in  toil 
and  rapidly  separated  men  into  industrial 
classes.  Work,  the  means  of  training  and 
expression,   of  personal  relation   and  helpful- 


8  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

ness,  is  now  too  often  the  occasion  of  suspicion, 
and  envy,  and  contention.  The  Church  in 
America,  the  voluntary  system  supported  by 
the  offerings  of  individuals,  is  naturally  af- 
fected by  the  commercial  forces  of  the  time, 
finds  its  support  and  control  largely  in  the 
prosperous  classes,  and  consequently  is  re- 
garded with  suspicion  or  indifference  by  the 
multitude  of  toilers.  We  must  face  the  facts. 
Organized  labor  is  practically  outside  the 
Church.  The  one  hundred  thousand  Bohe- 
mians in  Chicago,  descendants  of  the  men  of 
Huss,  have  no  use  for  the  preacher.  These  men 
will  applaud  the  name  of  Christ  and  hiss  the 
Church.  How  shall  we  speak  to  the  men,  our 
brethren  in  the  redemption  of  Christ,  who  feel 
that  their  social  redemption  lies  outside  of  the 
Church  ?  We  might  use  the  figure  of  Carlyle, 
and  say  that  the  preacher  should  take  the  spec- 
tacles off  his  nose  and  see  what  are  the  real 
Satanas,  the  soul-devouring  monsters  of  our 
time.  And  I  shall  speak  of  one  other  force 
that  seems  hostile  to  the  pulpit,  even  at  the 
danger  of  making  a  sombre  beginning  to  our 
study  of  preaching. 

It  is  a  critical  age.  The  scientific  method  and 
temper  affect  the  thinking  of  men.  The  foun- 
dations of  belief  are  reexamined.     Institutions 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  9 

and  creeds  are  studied  in  the  light  of  their 
development.  The  inductive  study  of  nature 
and  the  life  of  man  is  applied  to  the  Bible,  and 
traditional  views  of  its  composition  and  inspira- 
tion are  modified.  This  at  once  affects  the  pop- 
ular thought  as  to  the  authority  of  the  preacher. 
The  variant  voices  of  the  pulpit  have  also  given 
reason  to  the  questioning  spirit.  Diverse  in- 
terpretations of  Scripture,  opposing  systems  of 
doctrine,  cannot  be  equally  the  Word  of  God. 
Why  should  men  listen  to  the  preacher  ?  How 
does  he  know  more  than  others  what  God 
requires  of  us  ?  It  is  not  that  men  are  irreli- 
gious, but  that  the  critical  spirit  has  made  them 
uncertain,  even  doubtful  whether  the  questions 
so  easily  discussed  by  the  preacher  can  be 
known.  Many  men  give  up  spiritual  problems 
as  unsolvable,  or  look  to  other  sources  than  the 
pulpit  for  their  solution. 

Such  is  the  temper  of  the  age  in  which  we 
must  work.  It  calls  for  men  who  shall  be 
heard,  who  shall  make  themselves  felt  by  the 
largeness  of  their  spiritual  manhood  and  by  the 
divineness  of  their  message.  Hence  the  need 
of  a  higher  conception  of  our  work,  of  the  place 
of  preaching  in  the  plan  of  God  and  in  the 
spiritual  training  of  the  race. 


10  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

The  Scripture  Warrant  for  Preaching.  —  The 

prophet  is  the  ancestor  of  the  preacher.  In  the 
Old  Testament  there  were  two  agents  or  leaders 
of  the  religious  life,  the  priest  and  the  prophet. 
The  priest  sustained  the  form  of  religion,  the 
prophet  ministered  to  its  spirit.  The  forms  of 
religion  may  become  superficial,  unreal,  exclu- 
sive. And  so  God  sent  the  prophets  special,  oc- 
casional voices,  to  break  up  the  crust  of  religion 
and  reach  its  spirit,  —  fearless  speakers  for  God, 
giving  larger  views  of  His  nature  and  plan,  rein- 
terpreting the  meaning  of  law  and  temple  and 
ritual,  the  voice  of  personal  and  national  need. 
The  prophets  are  the  spiritual  teachers  of  the 
Old  Testament.  "  Where  there  is  no  vision," 
says  one  of  the  proverbs,  no  fresh  vision,  no 
new  light  upon  God  and  his  world,  "the  people 
perish"  or  cast  off  restraint.  The  very  progress 
of  the  race  depends  upon  the  prophetic  voice. 

The  greatest  prophet  was  a  preacher.  Christ 
taught  with  authority  and  not  as  the  scribes. 
"  His  Kingly  and  Priestly  work  was  initiated 
by  the  prophetic."  The  Gospel  is  an  incarna- 
tion, truth  through  personality.  "  In  Him  is 
life  and  the  life  is  the  light  of  men."  And 
the  personal  method  is  His  way  of  disseminat- 
ing truth  and  life.  Not  through  institutions 
nor  literature,  but  through  personality,  must  the 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  11 

Gospel  be  chiefly  spread.  "  From  lip  to  lip 
and  heart  to  heart,  the  truth  must  be  passed  on, 
the  divine  life  in  one  soul  to  be  as  a  torch  with 
which  to  kindle  it  in  another."  So  Christ 
gathered  disciples  and  taught  them  and  im- 
pressed His  personality  upon  them.  He  per- 
fected the  oral  method.  He  did  not  leave  a 
single  written  word.  His  first  parable,  the  key 
to  His  teaching,  is  on  the  way  the  truth  is  to  be 
given  and  received.  "  He  opened  His  mouth 
and  taught  them." 

Christ  chose  and  trained  men  and  sent  them 
forth  to  be  preachers.  The  illustrations  by 
which  their  minds  were  prepared  to  receive 
definite  instruction  imply  the  preaching  of  the 
word,  fishermen,  sowers  of  seed,  reapers  of  har- 
vests. The  charges  and  descriptions  of  their 
work  are  still  clearer.  They  were  sent  as 
He  was.  They  were  to  be  His  servants,  His 
witnesses,  His  messengers.  They  were  to  feed 
the  lambs  and  feed  the  flock.  Christ's  last 
words  were  a  solemn  and  emphatic  charge  to 
preach  the  Gospel  and  make  disciples  of  all 
nations.  "Nothing  can  be  more  explicit  as  a 
declaration  of  the  chief  work  which  He  was  com- 
mitting to  His  representatives." 

The  Apostles  regarded  their  chief  work  as 
preaching.     They  asked  for  the  appointment  of 


12  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

deacons,  that  they  might  give  themselves  to  the 
"ministry  of  the  Word  and  prayer."  Paul 
describes  his  work  as  declaring,  teaching,  testi- 
fying. "  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize  but  to 
preach  the  Gospel."  Peter  speaks  of  himself 
as  "  commanded  to  preach  to  the  people."  The 
Apostles  describe  themselves  as  ambassadors, 
stewards,  heralds,  preachers.  "  Wherever  in 
the  New  Testament  the  call  to  the  ministry  is 
spoken  of,  preaching  is  the  point  made 
emphatic." 

The  History  of  the  Church  testifies  to  the  Im- 
portance of  Preaching.  —  The  Christian  Church 
began  in  preaching.  The  gift  of  the  spirit  at 
Pentecost  was  that  men  might  hear,  each  in  his 
own  tongue,  the  word  of  the  good  news.  The 
sermon  of  Peter  stands  as  the  notable  event  in 
the  morning  of  the  Church.  The  Gospel  was 
preached  before  it  was  written.  The  man  to 
whose  philosophic  breadth,  and  spiritual  fervor 
and  consuming  zeal,  the  early  Church  owes  the 
most,  was  preeminently  a  public  teacher.  The 
Epistles  of  Paul  were  written  to  the  churches 
that  had  been  gathered  by  his  skilful  teaching 
of  the  Word. 

Each  century  of  the  Church  has  repeated  this 
fact  of  its  early  experience. 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  13 

The  first  victories  over  heathenism  and  semi- 
civilized  peoples  have  been  won  by  the  preacher: 
Columba  and  his  followers  among  the  early 
Britons,  Augustine  among  the  later  Angles  and 
Saxons,  Boniface  in  Gaul,  Cyril  and  Methodius 
along  the  Danube  and  Black  Sea,  record  the 
triumphs  of  preaching.  And  the  modern 
proofs  are  not  less  striking:  Xavier,  Lacroix, 
and  Duff  in  India,  Burns  and  Morrison  in 
China,  Moffat  in  South  Africa,  Brainerd  and 
Eliot  among  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the 
Western  Continent. 

The  Christian  life  thus  established  has  been 
strengthened  and  enlarged  through  the  work  of 
preaching.  Other  agencies  have  been  cooper- 
ant  with  the  pulpit,  the  teacher,  and  the  student. 
The  teacher  must  be  companion  of  the  preacher 
if  faith  is  to  be  established  in  intelligence  and 
the  Church  self-propagating  by  wise  and 
efficient  agencies.  Education  in  religion  is 
rightly  receiving  greater  attention.  But  it  will 
not,  it  cannot,  take  the  place  of  the  pulpit. 
Preaching  is  in  accordance  with  the  very 
genius  of  Christianity.  Christianity  has 
created  the  pulpit.  The  sermons  of  Christian 
pulpits  are  interwoven  with  the  best  life  of 
civilization,  its  educator  and  inspiration.  From 
the  days   of  Augustine   and   Chrysostom  and 


14  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

Ambrose  to  those  of  Liddon  and  Spurgeon  and 
Beecher  and  Brooks,  the  succession  has  been 
almost  unbroken  of  apostolic  and  prophetic 
voices.  And  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  the 
modern  pulpit  has  lost  nothing  of  the  respon- 
sibility for  instruction  and  is  not  inferior  in  the 
gifts  of  teaching  and  persuasion. 

It  is  further  noticeable  that  the  "times  of 
refreshing,"  the  spiritual  and  aggressive  eras 
of  Christianity,  have  been  the  days  of  great 
preachers.  In  this  fact  no  doubt  are  found  both 
cause  and  effect.  Their  lofty  visions  and  burn- 
ing words  have  unveiled  the  heavens  and 
uncovered  the  hearts  of  men  and  made  the 
Kingdom  of  God  a  real  and  present  and 
dominant  Kingdom.  And  such  vitality  in  the 
hearts  of  men  is  impatient  of  honied  words  and 
pretty  fancies  and  formal  correctness  in  the 
pulpit.  It  demands  and  calls  forth  the  crea- 
tive thoughts  and  passionate  speech  that  make 
eras  of  spiritual  progress. 

The  higher  life  of  society  is  dependent  upon 
an  effective  pulpit.  Movements  of  reform 
have  begun  in  the  simple  and  fearless  preaching 
of  the  Gospel.  Wiclif  and  his  preachers 
touched  the  moral  sense  of  a  corrupt  age  and 
made  men  restless  and  aspiring.  John  Huss 
caught  the  spirit  and  proclaimed  the  word  of  a 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  15 

new  life  in  Bohemia.  Glorious  has  been  the 
succession  of  fearless  preachers,  the  men  of 
"light  and  leading,"  who  have  increasingly 
interpreted  Christianity  as  a  present  Kingdom 
among  men  :  Colet,  Luther,  Calvin,  Knox,  — 
and  especially  in  more  recent  times  and  in 
our  own  race  and  language,  Baxter,  Bunyan, 
Wesley,  Whitefield ;  Robertson,  Spurgeon, 
Beecher,  Parkhurst,  —  each  in  his  own  way  has 
touched  the  bones  of  a  dead  formalism  and 
made  living  creatures,  or  pierced  the  tissue 
of  lies  that  worldly  habit  had  woven  about 
the  Church  that  it  might  come  forth  in  new- 
ness of  life. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  final  argument  for 
preaching  —  the  further  reason  for  the  per- 
petuity of  this  work  in  the  Church.  We 
have  already  seen  that  the  pulpit  is  in  accord 
with  the  very  genius  of  Christianity,  its  prod- 
uct as  the  religion  of  the  Incarnation.  Chris- 
tianity is  a  life  ;  it  can  only  be  propagated  by 
personal  influence.  Speech  is  the  chief  expres- 
sion and  agency  of  personality.  This  is  the 
psychological  reason.  The  pulpit  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  very  nature  of  man.  Language  is 
the  expression  of  life.  We  know  and  receive  life 
largely  through  speech.    Words  are  the  visible 


16  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

forms  of  truths.  But  the  highest  power,  the  full- 
est meaning  of  words,  are  perceived  and  felt  only 
when  they  are  spoken.  Words  are  the  living 
pulses  of  the  soul.  "  The  essays  of  Emerson 
were  never  truly  understood,"  said  Alcott, 
"until  he  had  spoken  them."  It  is  the  accent 
of  conviction  that  arrests  and  holds  the  in- 
attentive and  thoughtless  multitude.  It  is  the 
tone  of  sympathy  that  opens  indifferent  and 
hostile  minds.  It  is  the  key  of  experience 
"  our  hands  have  handled  "  that  interprets  the 
word  and  truly  commends  it  to  the  hearts  of 
men.  A  man  must  speak  the  message,  a  man 
who  knows  and  feels  its  power,  a  man  throb- 
bing with  its  spirit  and  import.  And  here 
preaching,  though  using  all  the  natural  powers 
and  arts  of  speech,  is  lifted  distinctly  above 
rhetoric  and  elocution,  into  a  higher  plane  of 
spiritual  influence.  It  is  the  power  of  personal 
testimony,  the  Christ  speaking  through  his 
messenger  :  "  Ye  are  my  witnesses." 

"The  source  of  genuine  religious  eloquence 
lies  much  deeper  and  higher  than  in  the  study 
and  appropriation  of  rhetorical  figures  and 
other  artificial  human  methods,  —  in  the 
deep  glow,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  heart  for 
the  divine  truth  and  beauty  of  the  Gospel, 
which  the  spirit  of  God  produces  in  the  speaker 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  17 

when  he  becomes  humbly  absorbed  in  the  truth; 
and  when  this  unfolds  itself  in  his  address,  then 
also  the  Spirit  of  God  cooperates,  impressing 
and  touching  the  hearts  of  the  hearers.  In  this 
self-abandonment  to  the  holy  unction  from 
above  lies  the  inmost  source  of  true  religious 
eloquence  and  the  secret  of  its  fruitful  operation.,, 
We  need  not  fear  that  preaching  will  pass 
away.  Its  function  is  perpetual  in  the  work  of 
the  Church.  It  will  be  affected  by  the  condi- 
tions of  the  age  and  must  change  its  form  to 
meet  such  conditions.  There  may  be  periods 
of  decline  in  the  power  of  the  pulpit,  but  its 
mission  and  necessity  are  unmistakable  and 
unchangeable.  Dr.  Robertson  Nicol  draws  the 
lesson  from  the  recent  religious  census  of  Lon- 
don :  "  The  great  means  of  attracting  the 
people  is  Christian  preaching.  Wherever  a 
preacher  appears,  no  matter  what  his  denomi- 
nation is,  he  has  a  great  audience.  Nothing 
makes  up  for  a  failure  in  preaching.  The 
churches  of  all  denominations,  if  they  are  wise, 
will  give  themselves  with  increased  zeal  and 
devotion  to  the  training  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try. Nor  will  any  magnificence  of  ritual,  or 
any  musical  attraction,  or  any  lectures  on  sec- 
ular subjects,  permanently  attract  worshippers. 
It  can  be  done  only  by  Christian  preaching." 


18  The  Importance  of  Preaching 

We  may  know  the  importance  of  our  work  as 
we  give  ourselves  to  the  study  and  discipline 
of  preaching.  Its  worth  and  glory  may  light 
the  humblest  task  of  sermon-preparation  and 
lift  the  minute  daily  discipline  into  unfailing 
impulse. 

There  is  no  work  in  the  world  for  a  moment 
comparable  with  that  of  preaching  the  Gospel, 
standing  in  Christ's  stead,  teaching  and  per- 
suading men  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

There  is  no  joy  so  sweet  and  abiding  as  the 
sense  of  ministry  to  the  higher  life  of  men. 
"Life  has  given  and  withheld  much  from  me 
that  has  been  or  has  seemed  to  be  rich  and 
valuable.  It  has  never  given  me  another  hour 
when  I  felt  that  I  had  found  the  chief  privilege 
of  existence,  as  I  felt  when  I  forgot  myself  and 
pleaded  with  heaven  for  those  miserable  men  ; 
nor  has  it  withheld  much  that  I  should  have 
treasured  more  than  the  power  to  continue  my 
happy  work  among  them."  2  There  is  no  fruit- 
age of  toil  so  sure  and  abundant  as  using  the 
gifts  of  nature  and  grace  in  the  Christian  pulpit 
to  make  men  "doers  of  the  word." 

The  Church  wants  better  men  in  her  pulpits, 
not  more  men  ;  prophets,  not  priests  ;  the  living 
word,  not  the  professional  repetition  of  truth, 
i  Mrs.  Ward,  "  Chapters  from  a  Life,"  p.  210. 


The  Importance  of  Preaching  19 

The  noblest  gifts,  the  richest  furnishing,  the 
best  training,  are  not  too  much.  But  she  must 
have  men  who  shall  regard  preaching  as  the 
highest  and  most  difficult  art,  who  shall  have 
lofty  conceptions  of  it,  who  shall  not  be  lazy  or 
insincere,  who  shall  bend  themselves  and  hold 
themselves  to  its  attainment. 

There  never  has  been  a  harder  or  better  time 
for  the  preacher  :  a  time  that  tests  men  and 
tries  men,  hostile  to  the  factitious  and  the  false, 
indifferent  to  the  common  place  ;  a  time  that 
can  be  convinced  and  led  by  nothing  less  than 
the  highest  truth  of  life  and  doctrine. 

It  is  possible  for  each  of  us  to  grow  toward 
the  ideal  expressed  by  Luther  :  "  There  is  no 
more  precious  treasure  nor  nobler  thing  upon 
earth  and  in  this  life  than  a  true  and  faithful 
parson  and  preacher.  The  spiritual  preacher 
increaseth  the  Kingdom  of  God,  filleth  heaven 
with  saints,  plundereth  hell,  guardeth  men 
against  death,  putteth  a  stop  to  sin,  instructeth 
the  world,  consoleth  every  man  according  to 
his  condition,  preserveth  peace  and  unity,  train- 
eth  young  people  excellently,  planteth  all  kinds 
of  virtue  in  the  nation  ;  in  short,  he  createth  a 
new  world,  and  buildeth  a  house  that  shall  not 
pass  away." 


LECTURE  II 

THE   IDEAL   OF   PREACHING 


OUTLINE 

1.  The  conception  of  preaching.  It  cannot  be  fixed,  but  must 
be  varied  and  growing  with  the  person  and  the  age. 

2.  The  preacher  is  the  public  speaker,  like  the  lecturer  and 
the  orator,  subject  to  the  laws  of  thought  and  speech, 
and  of  the  associate  mind  of  the  crowd. 

3.  The  preacher  is  the  public  speaker  on  religious  truth. 
Truth  discussed  in  every  field  of  thought. 

4.  The  preacher  is  the  public  speaker  on  Christian  truth. 

a  Christianity  has  created  the  pulpit. 

b  The  varying  phases  :  the  sermons  of  the  Apostles,  the 
homilies  of  the  early  Church,  the  preaching  of  the 
Reformation  era,  the  sermon  of  the  modern  pulpit. 

c  Characteristics  of  the  sermon,  that  distinguish  it  from 
other  writing  and  speaking.  (1)  The  sense  of  divine 
message.  (2)  Instruction  in  the  Scriptures.  (3)  Per- 
suasion to  right  living.  (4)  Direct  and  personal 
qualities.  (5)  Practical,  a  tool  not  a  work  of  art. 
See  Gowan,  "  Preaching  and  Preachers,"  chap.  4. 

d  Hence  the  definition  of  the  sermon. 

5.  The  message  of  the  sermon. 

What  is  scriptural  preaching?  Preaching  Christ,  its 
technical  and  its  spiritual  meaning. 

6.  The  aim  of  the  sermon. 

"The  perfect  life."  Hence  the  varieties  of  sermons, 
and  the  many  elements  in  the  sermon.  Instruction 
and  persuasion.  How  to  reach  the  will.  The  variety 
of  natures  and  needs  in  a  congregation. 

7.  The  method  of  the  sermon. 

How  a  sermon  differs  from  an  essay  and  oration. 
The  danger  and  use  of  eloquence  in  preaching. 
The  oral  method  of  Christ  and  all  true  preachers. 
The  fullest  and  freest  expression  of  the  person. 
"  Preaching  is  God's  word  thro'  a  man." 
References  : 

Austin  Phelps.    "  The  Theory  of  Preaching."    1-3. 

Behrends.     "  The  Philosophy  of  Preaching."    3. 

Greer.    "  The  Preacher  and  his  Place."    3.  , 

Van  Dyke.    "  The  Gospel  for  an  Age  of  Doubt."  2. 

Fletcher.     "  Chapters  on  Preaching."    2,  3. 

L.  J.  Evans.    "  Preaching  Christ." 

Gowan.    "  Preaching  and  Preachers."    4. 
22 


LECTURE  II 

THE   IDEAL  OF   PREACHING 

We  have  seen  the  importance  of  preaching. 
It  is  an  unchanging  office  of  the  Church,  a 
permanent  function  of  public  worship.  There 
may  be  periods  of  decline  in  preaching,  times 
of  special  difficulty,  but  preaching  remains  as 
the  chief  work  of  the  ministry,  as  the  divinely 
appointed  means  for  the  extension  of  the  King- 
dom of  Christ. 

What,  then,  is  preaching  ?  What  shall  be 
our  ideal  of  the  sermon?  An  ideal  we  must 
have,  pure  and  high,  if  we  are  not  to  be 
ashamed  of  our  work.  We  must  build  after 
the  pattern  in  the  Mount.  The  conception 
will  direct  all  training  and  effort.  It  will  give 
self-knowledge,  and  awaken  unknown  powers, 
and  lead  to  larger  attainment. 

The  ideal  of  the  sermon  is  not  a  form  that 
has  been  fixed  by  the  past,  however  great  and 
venerable,  a  mould  into  which  all  present  life 
23 


24  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

and  truth  must  be  run.  Preaching  should  be 
free  and  personal.  It  should  have  the  variety 
and  individuality  of  the  person  to  make  it  a  liv- 
ing and  life-giving  word.  When  the  sermon  be- 
comes stereotyped  in  form,  an  artificial  channel, 
the  providence  of  God  raises  up  a  prophet  out- 
side the  schools  or  too  great  for  them — a  Wesley, 
a  Moody,  a  Brooks  —  to  cut  new  channels 
for  power.  The  form  of  the  sermon  must  vary 
with  the  age,  with  the  life  of  the  messengers, 
and  the  nature  and  needs  of  the  men  to  whom 
they  speak. 

The  preacher  is  a  public  speaker  like  the 
lecturer  and  the  orator.  Like  them  he  must 
regard  the  laws  of  rhetoric  and  elocution. 
Like  them  he  must  study  the  workings  of  the 
mind  and  the  special  conditions  of  the  associate 
mind  of  the  crowd. 

The  sermon  has  sometimes  lost  its  grip  upon 
men  by  its  aloofness  of  thought,  its  ignorance 
of  what  was  really  going  on  in  the  hearts  of 
men,  and  its  unreality  of  style,  not  using  the 
best  speech  of  daily  life.  It  would  be  far  bet- 
ter for  the  preacher  to  study  such  masters  of 
the  plain  people  and  of  common  speech  as  John 
Bright  and  Abraham  Lincoln  than  any  great 
sermon -form  of  the  past. 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  25 

The  preacher  is  the  public  speaker  on  reli- 
gion, discussing  the  truths  of  the  spiritual  life. 
The  relation  of  man  to  God,  the  moral  order 
and  government  of  God,  and  the  practical  ethics 
that  grow  out  of  it,  are  felt  to  be  vital  to  the 
welfare  of  man  and  society  and  are  examined 
and  discussed  by  every  generation.  No  other 
questions  so  hold  the  thought  of  men  and  are 
considered  with  such  unabated  interest.  They 
crop  out  in  other  fields  than  theology  and  are 
discussed  in  other  places  than  the  pulpit.  The 
essay,  the  lecture,  the  book  of  the  day,  —  even 
the  current  fiction, — are  full  of  questions  of 
religion.  The  preacher  speaks  of  truths  that 
are  voiced  by  many  others. 

The  preacher  speaks  of  Christian  truth,  the 
facts  and  truths  and  duties  connected  with  a 
distinct  and  peculiar  historic  revelation.  While 
the  preacher  in  many  respects  is  like  any  man 
speaking  in  a  public  and  formal  way  to  others 
anywhere  in  the  world,  he  is  again  very  dis- 
tinct from  other  speakers  in  his  message  and 
aim  and  method. 

The  sermon  must  be  compared  with  other 
forms  of  thought  and  speech  that  its  humanness 
and  reality  may  not  be  lost  ;  but  its  distinction 
must  also   be   emphasized  that  its   inspiration 


26  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

may  not  be  lost,  that  a  true  conception  may 
gird  and  impel  the  minds  of  the  ministry. 
Christianity  has  created  the  Christian  pulpit. 
Its  central  truth  of  the  Incarnation  demands 
the  personal  expression  for  the  propagation  of 
its  life.  Its  truths  have  been  recorded  in  a 
Book,  to  guide  and  inspire  this  personal  ex- 
pression. The  life  of  Christianity  finds  its  out- 
come and  its  goal  in  a  Kingdom  of  God,  the 
Christian  life  in  all  its  relations,  a  Christian 
society,  the  fellowship  of  loyal  lives.  The 
spontaneous,  instinctive  expression  of  Christian 
hearts,  the  means  likewise  of  the  continuance  and 
growth  of  faith  and  fellowship,  is  the  worship 
of  the  Church.  But  the  speaking  of  the  Word 
of  God  is  the  highest  element  of  worship.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  promised  with  the  unfolding  of 
the  truth.  All  that  makes  God  and  His  will 
and  grace  in  Christ  better  known  is  the  highest 
help  to  a  spiritual  worship.  Luther  may  ex- 
aggerate in  holding  that  there  can  be  no  true 
worship  where  there  is  no  true  preaching,  but 
preaching  and  worship  cannot  be  safely  divorced. 
When  worship  is  unduly  exalted,  the  tempta- 
tions are  formalism,  insincerity,  exclusiveness  ; 
when  the  stress  is  unduly  put  upon  the 
preaching,  the  temptations  are  intellectualism, 
dogmatism,  and  often  the  separation  of   faith 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  27 

and  life.  So  the  preacher  speaks  Christian 
truth  as  the  divinely  appointed  way  for  its 
extension  and  as  a  part  of  the  worship  of  the 
Church. 

The  sermons  of  the  Apostles  were  arguments 
or  interpretations  from  the  Old  Testament  and 
their  personal  witness  to  the  fact  of  Christ. 

The  sermons  of  the  Early  Fathers  were 
largely  homilies,  the  discussion  of  the  practical 
questions  of  life  in  the  light  of  the  Christian 
revelation  with  personal  exhortations. 

Preaching,  as  a  regular  order,  was  lost 
through  the  development  of  the  hierarchy  of 
the  Church  and  its  splendid  ritual  through  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  Reformation  renewed  the 
practice  of  preaching  and  introduced  the  use  of 
a  single  verse  or  verses  as  a  text.  The  removal 
of  the  source  of  authority  in  religion  from  the 
Church  to  the  Bible  gave  a  new  hunger  for  the 
Word  and  sent  the  public  teacher  to  the  Bible 
for  his  truth  and  authority.  The  study  of  the 
Bible  led  to  the  endless  discussions  as  to  its 
meaning  and  sometimes  the  exalting  of  indi- 
vidual opinion  over  the  opinion  of  the  Church. 
Religion  grew  speculative  and  dogmatic,  and  the 
preaching  reflected  the  life  of  the  time.  The 
Puritan  sermons  are  treatises  on  theology,  full  of 
minute  divisions  and  subtle  and  artificial  distinc- 


U 


28  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

tions.    The  texts  are  often  but  starting  points  for 
the  discussion  of  some  great  topic  of  theology. 

The  sermons  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  partook 
of  the  oratory  of  the  day.  The  classic  influ- 
ences in  the  development  of  English  prose  led 
to  a  fulness  and  finish  of  form.  The  sermon 
was  a  religious  oration,  with  its  formal  intro- 
duction and  regular  divisions  and  eloquent 
peroration.  To  the  restless  and  practical  spirit 
of  to-day  the  sermons  of  the  past  century  seem 
stilted  and  artificial,  but  they  were  true  to  the 
tastes  of  public  speech. 

Our  age  has  no  definite  form  of  the  sermon,, 
as  it  has  no  definite  conception  of  public  speech. 
The  age  of  the  telephone  is  impatient  of  the 
sounding  phrase.. '  The  scientific  spirit  is  sus- 
picious of  the  name  of  eloquence.  There  is 
more  individuality  in  preaching  and  less  imita- 
tion of  definite  and  commanding  masters.  And 
the  desire  to  see  things  as  they  are  and  to 
present  them  in  a  way  to  win  the  attention  of 
an  absorbed  or  indifferent  generation  has  led 
to  the  two  marked  tendencies  in  present-day 
preaching,  viz. :  the  realistic  interpretation  of 
Scripture  and  the  realistic  portrayal  of  life. 

So  preaching,  like  any  other  human  force,  has 
been  affected  by  its  environment,  feeling  the 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  29 

thought  and  style  of  the  age  and  wisely  adapt- 
ing itself  to  the  varying  tastes  of  men.  It  has 
followed  the  development  of  the  race  and  lan- 
guage. The  preaching  to-day  cannot  be  the 
preaching  of  the  Apostles,  though  it  deals  with 
the  same  elemental  forces  and  is  inspired  by  the 
same  spirit  of  truth.  It  is  the  product  of  the 
Christian  Church  and  of  Christian  civilization, 
and  is  best  understood  by  those  who  know  the 
most  of  the  life  from  which  it  comes. 

In  this  long  process  of  the  Christian  pulpit, 
from  the  complex  life  to-day  of  which  preach- 
ing is  the  expression,  is  it  possible  to  state  cer- 
tain definite  characteristics  of  the  sermon,  to  draw 
in  a  few  strokes  the  conception  of  preaching  ? 

Preaching  in  the  first  place  is  characterized 
by  a  sense  of  message  from  God.  "  We  stand 
up  before  men,  not  to  enforce  our  own  opinions, 
our  own  likes  and  dislikes,  but  I  to  teach  them 
the  will  of  God,  and  the  conditions  of  salvation. 
All  these  things  are  to  be  found  in  the  Bible. 
It  is  God's  gift  to  man.  The  instructions  and 
conditions  are  not  ours,  but  God's.  We  are 
merely  ambassadors,  and  it  is  our  duty  and 
privilege  to  enforce  the  conditions  and  to  be- 
seech our  fellow-men  to  embrace  them,  and  to 
become  reconciled  to  God."1 
iGowan,  p.  206. 


30  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

A  true  sermon  is  scriptural.  I  do  not  mean 
that  it  must  be  full  of  Scripture,  but  it  must 
give  the  message  of  Christ  and  in  His  spirit.J 
A  sermon  may  be  full  of  Scripture  and  yet 
convey  no  message.  It  may  be  wholly  in  the 
language  of  to-day  and  give  the  very  heart  of 
the  Gospel. 

"  Raise  me  but  a  bam  in  the  very  shadow  of 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  and  give  me  a  man  who 
shall  preach  Christ  crucified,  with  something  of 
the  energy  which  the  all-inspiring  theme  is 
calculated  to  awaken,  and  you  shall  see  the 
former  crowded  with  warm  hearts,  while  the 
matins  and  vespers  of  the  latter,  if  the  Gospel 
be  not  preached  there,  shall  be  chanted  to  the 
statues  of  the  mighty  dead."  1 

A  sermon  is  instructive.  It  must  teach  the 
truths  of  Christianity  in  a  way  to  inform  the 
mind,  in  a  way  to  give  new  and  clearer  views 
of  the  facts  and  truths  of  the  Gospel  if  it  is  to 
be  true  to  its  mission.  It  is  not  a  pleasing 
panorama  nor  a  fervent  exhortation.  The  pul- 
pit fails  that  does  not  broadly  and  soundly 
educate  the  people  in  the  Scriptures.  The 
Presbyterian  pulpit  of  Scotland  has  kept  its 
mastery  by  its  superior  instruction. 

A  sermon  is  persuasive.     A  sermon  tries  to 
1  James,  "An  Earnest  Ministry." 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  31 

do  something  more  than  instruct  or  please,  it 
aims  to  affect  the  will  and  so  control  the  life. 
"  The  conviction  of  the  judgment  will,  not 
necessarily,  lead  a  man  to  act."  We  must  pro- 
vide motives  that  shall  induce  the  person  to 
choose  the  right  way  of  life.  The  will  is  the 
citadel  of  personality,  and  to  reach  the  will,  so 
to  display  and  commend  truth,  that  the  man 
shall  of  himself  accept  and  follow  it,  is  the  aim 
and  secret  of  effective  preaching.)  And  as  we 
are  complex  beings  with  many  different  ap- 
proaches to  the  will,  the  study  of  life  must 
constantly  go  on,  that  we  may  know  how  to 
persuade  men.  It  matters  not  how  it  is  done, 
if  it  is  done  ;  whether  the  motive  for  action 
comes  through  judgment  or  conscience  or  emo- 
tion, if  the  will  sends  its  choice  through  all  the 
veins  of  life.  But  we  must  remember  that  the 
sermon  comes  short  of  its  mission  if  it  does 
not  persuade.  Persuasion  was  the  note  of  Mr. 
Beecher's  preaching.  "  To  preach  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  ;  to  have  Christ  so  melted  and 
dissolved  in  you,  that  when  you  preach  your 
own  self  you  preach  Him  as  Paul  did  ;  to  have 
every  part  of  you  living  and  luminous  with 
Christ ;  and  then  to  make  use  of  everything 
that  is  in  you,  your  analogical  reasoning,  your 
logical  reasoning,  your  imagination,  your  mirth- 


32  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

fulness,  your  humor,  your  indignation,  your 
wrath;  to  take  everything  that  is  in  you  all 
steeped  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  throw  yourself 
with  all  your  power  upon  a  congregation  — 
that  has  been  my  theory  of  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel. I  have  felt  that  man  should  consecrate 
every  gift  that  he  has  got  in  him  that  has  any 
relation  to  the  persuasion  of  men  and  to  the 
melting  of  men  —  that  he  should  put  them  all 
on  the  altar,  kindle  them  all,  and  let  them  burn 
for  Christ's  sake."  This  theory  of  preaching 
makes  the  sermon  distinct  from  every  other 
kind  of  public  speech. 

The  sermon  should  be  direct  and  personal. 
It  should  aim  at  something  and  hit  it.  With- 
out rudeness,  with  the  sensitive  and  kindly 
spirit  of  a  Christian  gentleman,  the  message 
should  be  given  in  a  way  that  men  shall  not 
escape  it,  but  apply  it  to  their  own  lives. 
Peter  at  Pentecost  and  Paul  before  Felix  are 
good  examples  for  us.  It  will  require  a  heart 
of  love  and  courage,  the  spirit  of  a  true  prophet 
to  do  this.  It  means  the  sympathetic  knowl- 
edge of  men,  appropriateness,  the  fitting  of 
the  word  to  personal  need,  above  all  sincerity, 
true  in  one's  own  life  and  with  a  disinterested 
zeal,  never  presuming  to  say  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  pulpit  what  you  would  not  say  to 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  33 

men  in  the  privacy  and  intimacy  of  their  own 
homes. 

^Preaching  is  a  direct  message  to  the  hearts 
of  men,  a  word  from  life  to  life.  "  These,  my 
friends,"  Charles  Kingsley  would  sometimes  say, 
"  are  real  thoughts.  And  I  am  here  to  speak 
about  what  is  actually  taking  place  in  your 
hearts  and  mine."  And  his  wife  said  that 
when  he  was  most  earnest  and  moving,  it  was 
when  he  was  meeting  some  case  of  individual 
need  in  his  parish,  some  sorrow  or  sin  which 
perhaps  he  alone  knew. 

The  sermon  should  be  our  word.  "If  I  have 
not  seen  Him  myself,  I  cannot  preach  Him," 
said  Joseph  Parker.  And  the  word  should  find 
its  way  as  directly  to  the  understanding  and 
motives  of  our  hearers  as  will  make  it  the  most 
effective.  Nothing  of  thought,  style,  or  man- 
ner should  interfere  with  the  direct  and  personal 
quality. 

And  once  more  the  sermon  should  be  prac- 
tical. Preaching  is  the  highest  art,  but  the 
artistic  conception  of  the  sermon  is  fatal.  The 
sermon  is  not  a  work  of  art.  Phillips  Brooks 
says  that  Phidias  among  a  savage  people  might 
still  go  on  carving  his  Minervas,  but  not  so  the 
preacher.  He  is  bound  to  minister  in  lowliness 
of  spirit,  to  make  taste  serve  the  needs  of  men. 


34  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

The  sermon  is  not  to  be  something  but  to  do 
something.  It  is  simply  a  tool,  and  when  it 
becomes  an  idol,  it  is  high  time  for  the  image 
breaker  to  come.  The  story  is  told  of  Da 
Vinci  that  when  he  had  finished  the  painting 
of  the  Last  Supper,  he  asked  a  friend  to  come 
and  see  it.  As  the  painter  withdrew  the  cloth, 
the  friend  exclaimed,  "  How  wonderful  the  cup 
in  the  hand  of  Christ  !  "  Da  Vinci  impulsively 
drew  his  brush  across  the  cup,  passionately  say- 
ing, "  Nothing  shall  hide  the  face  of  the 
Christ !  "  We  should  deal  with  the  sermon 
in  this  spirit.  The  sermon  is  the  best  which 
does  the  best  work.  We  get  in  the  way  of  ad- 
miring the  sermon  for  itself.  We  form  certain 
laws,  we  have  certain  examples,  and  we  try  to 
make  the  sermon  conform  to  them.  And  we 
are  tempted  to  judge  preaching  by  this  ideal. 
But  laws,  ideals,  are  only  for  use.  They  must 
always  be  kept  servants.  And  the  man  and 
the  message  and  the  souls  of  his  hearers,  these 
must  be  kept  supreme.  Some  form  unknown 
to  the  schools  may  reach  men  where  the  most 
approved  model  may  fail.  We  are  not  to  de- 
spise or  neglect  our  training  and  our  ideals,  but 
shape  them  into  divinest  use. 

"  It  were  to  be  wished  the  flaws  were  fewer 
In  the  earthen  vessel  holding  treasure,  — 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  35 

Which  lies  as  safe  as  in  a  golden  ewer,  — 

But  the  main  thing  is  —  does  it  hold  good  measure  — 
Heaven  soon  sets  right  all  other  matter." 

With  these  characteristics  of  the  sermon  in 
our  mind,  it  may  be  well  to  try  to  define  the 
sermon.  We  may  preach  without  ever  defin- 
ing preaching,  but  the  definition  will  help  to 
make  clear  the  ideal.  And  I  know  of  no 
better  definition  than  that  of  Austin  Phelps, 
"  The  sermon  is  an  oral  address  to  the  popular 
mind,  on  religious  truth  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  elaborately  treated  with  a  view  to 
persuasion."1  Leave  out  the  word  "elabo- 
rately," which  suggests  too  much  the  sermon 
of  the  schools,  somewhat  formal  and  literary, 
and  you  have  an  excellent  definition  of  the 
sermon. 

The  message  of  the  sermon  is  from  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  Bible  is  the  library  of  religion,  the 
authoritative  source  of  the  Christian  religion. 
True  conceptions  of  God,  of  man,  of  the  soul- 
life,  of  personal  and  social  relations  and  duties, 
of  the  "  Kingdom  of  God,"  are  to  be  gained 
here  as  from  nowhere  else.  The  preacher  is 
to  be  the  teacher  of  the  spiritual  life,  and  that 
means  that  he  is  to  be  the  student  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  whatever  will  interpret  their  mean- 
1  "Theory  of  Preaching,"  p.  28. 


36  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

ing.  He  is  to  be  a  religious  expert,  and  that 
means  that  first  and  last  he  is  to  be  an  expert 
student  of  the  Bible.  The  authority  of  the 
preacher  is  in  his  message,  and  in  the  popular 
conviction  that  he  knows  by  study  and  experi- 
ence whereof  he  speaks.  The  thoroughness 
and  reality  of  scriptural  knowledge  is  back  of 
all  lasting  power.  Encourage  the  impression 
that  the  preacher  is  only  a  talker,  that  he  is 
discussing  Christianity  as  men  talk  of  the  mar- 
ket and  the  forum,  and  men  do  not  care  to  hear 
him,  nor  will  they  accept  his  word  as  of  an 
especial  divineness.  "Be  of  good  courage.  If 
a  man  has  anything  to  say  from  God  to  the 
people,  they  will  come  to  hear  him,  and  their 
hearts  will  be  touched.  What  he  has  to  say 
on  his  own  account,  they  will  not  care  for  very 
long,  unless  he  is  a  man  of  a  million  ;  and  even 
then  their  interest  in  his  preaching  is  compara- 
tively languid."1 

With  a  knowledge  of  the  age  and  sympathy 
with  its  life  and  problems  there  must  be  a 
living  above  it,  a  solitary  dwelling  with  the 
revelation  of  Christ,  if  men  are  to  heed  our 
message.  The  pulpit  cannot  be  an  authority 
in  education  or  economics  or  civics,  but  it  can 
be  an  authority  in  the  things  of  Christ.  And 
1  "Life  of  R.  W.  Dale,"  p.  527. 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  37 

men  hunger  for  the  truth  of  Christ  —  for  that 
which  heals  and  cleanses  and  gives  strength 
and  hope.  When  a  man  gets  his  message  from 
the  street,  or  from  some  current  book  in  the 
place  of  the  Bible,  when  he  fails  to  preach 
Christ,  he  is  giving  the  people  a  stone  when 
they  ask  for  bread. 

"Whenever  a  minister  forgets  the  splendid 
message  of  pardon,  peace  and  power  based  on 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  whenever  for  this  message  he  substitutes 
literary  lectures,  critical  essays,  sociological  dis- 
quisitions, theological  controversies,  or  even 
ethical  interpretations  of  the  universal  con- 
science, whenever,  in  other  words,  he  ceases  to  be 
a  Christian  preacher  and  becomes  a  lyceum  or 
seminary  lecturer,  he  divests  himself  of  that 
which  in  all  ages  of  the  world  has  been  the 
power  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  will  be 
its  power  so  long  as  men  have  sins  to  be  for- 
given, temptations  to  conquer,  and  sorrows  to 
be  assuaged."  2 

But  do  not  let  us  be  narrow  and  pietistic  in 
our  interpretation  of  the  message.  If  we  are, 
we  shall  fail  to  be  scriptural.  "  Give  us  the 
simple  Gospel,"  "  Preach  Christ,"  are  sometimes 
used  as  cant  phrases  by  the  pew  to  keep  the 
1  Lyman  Abbott,  "The  Christian  Ministry,"  p.  34. 


38  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

pulpit  from  interfering  with  immoral  gains  and 
immoral  pleasures ;  by  the  preacher  to  empha- 
size some  partial  and  sectarian  test  of  ortho- 
doxy. John  Wesley  protested  against  what 
were  "vulgarly  called  Gospel  sermons."  He 
says  with  all  the  satire  of  a  Sydney  Smith, 
"  Let  but  a  pert,  self-sufficient  animal  that  has 
neither  sense  nor  grace  bawl  out  something 
about  Christ  and  His  blood,  or  justification  by 
faith,  and  his  hearers  cry  out,  What  a  fine 
Gospel  sermon."1  A  recent  English  book, 
"  Chapters  on  Preaching,"  wisely  says  :  "  The 
common  phrases,  i  preaching  the  Gospel '  and 
4  preaching  Christ,'  have  a  very  large  meaning  ; 
much  larger  than  many  who  use  them  think. 
The  phrase,  '  the  simple  Gospel,'  may  be  used 
in  a  very  superficial  and  misleading  manner. 
The  Gospel  is  indeed  simple  in  its  great  out- 
lines, and  plain  men  can  grasp  its  main  points  ; 
but  it  is  broad  and  deep  as  well  as  clear.  The 
preacher  has  not  only  to  declare  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  the  Gospel  history,  but  to  show 
also  the  application  of  the  great  principles  and 
laws  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  to  the  complex 
affairs  of  human  life  through  the  changing  ages. 
He  has  to  show  how  the  authority  of  Christ 
bears  upon  the  individual  will  and  life  and  also 
1  "  Studies  in  the  English  Church,"  p.  15. 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  39 

upon  all  social  questions.  This  great  message 
is  the  instrument  which  God  has  appointed  for 
the  regeneration  and  uplifting  of  individual 
men  and  women,  and  of  human  society"  (p.  37). 
It  is  a  wonderful  thing  to  preach  Christ.  I 
am  sure  we  shall  never  reach  the  full  measure 
of  the  thought.  Even  the  aged  apostle  felt  his 
partial  knowledge,  "  We  know  in  part,  and  we 
prophesy  in  part."  The  Scriptures  testify  of 
Him :  preparation,  anticipation,  partial  lights, 
biography,  the  unfolding  and  application  of  his 
life  and  doctrine.  History  is  but  the  pathway 
of  His  plan.  Literature  is  full  of  broken  lights 
of  Him.  All  thought,  endeavor,  progress, 
speaks  of  Him  who  gives  it  life,  color,  and  pur- 
pose. Nature  is  His.  Her  manifold  messages 
are  voices  of  the  Christ,  and  her  forces  are  His 
servants.  "  Christ,  who  liveth  and  was  dead, 
and  who  is  alive  for  evermore  and  holds  the 
keys  of  death  and  the  grave."  The  man  who 
has  this  conception  cannot  but  preach  a  living 
message.  He  speaks  of  one  who  is  the  focal 
life  of  history,  the  completed  word  of  revela- 
tion. To  preach  the  Gospel  is  to  preach  Christ 
in  all  His  relations  to  the  Bible,  to  the  world, 
and  to  humanity.  Such  a  spirit  sees  Him 
everywhere  and  labors  and  waits  for  the  perfect 
revelation. 


v    40  The  Ideal  of  jRreaehing 

The  Aim  of  the  Sermon  is  the  Salvation  of 
Men.  —  But  we  must  interpret  salvation  in  its 
largest  sense.  Salvation  is  not  simply  deliver- 
ance, but  growth.  It  is  not  an  official  act,  but  a 
lifelong  process  ;  it  means  the  enrichment  and 
ennoblement  of  life  ;  it  is  God's  way  of  making 
a  man  — to  use  the  thought  emphasized  by  the 
teachings  of  Henry  Drummond.  With  the  aim 
so  large  as  the  development  of  spiritual  man- 
hood, the  whole  range  of  spiritual  truth  may 
be  used,  and  the  method  employed  may  be  as 
manifold  and  various  as  the  nature  of  man. 

The  simple  first  lessons  of  repentance  and 
faith,  the  deeper  lessons  of  Christ's  nature  and 
the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  the  adaptation  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  puzzling  questions  of  a  complex 
age  — all  are  included  in  the  aim  of  the  sermon. 
Like  a  master  the  preacher  must  try  to  play 
upon  all  the  keys  of  the  human  heart,  to  show 
the  Christ  in  his  many-sidedness,  to  multiply 
the  brightness  of  truth,  to  present  the  Gospel 
so  that  it  shall  seem  God's  answer  to  the  need 
of  our  humanity.  No  narrow  and  technical 
idea  of  the  sermon  will  ever  do  this.  It  must 
not  be  made  upon  any  single  model  or  after  any 
special  school  of  thought.  We  cannot  judge 
the  value  of  the  sermon  by  any  statistics  of 
conversion.     To  elevate  the  thoughts  of  men  is 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  41 

as  important  as  to  change  their  direction.  A 
Brooks  and  a  Moody  may  be  equally  God's 
workmen. 

While  we  are  to  consider  the  richness  of 
truth,  the  variety  of  natures  and  needs  of  men, 
and  consequently  the  varied  method  the  sermon 
may  pursue,  we  are  to  be  single-minded  in 
preaching.  Keep  the  spiritual  aim  supreme, 
and  [present  the  Gospel  so  that  men  shall  be 
convinced  of  sin  and  led  to  repentance  and 
faith.  I  have  no  doubt  that  preaching  would 
gain  in  power  if  it  were  more  often  strictly 
evangelistic.  We  must  never  forget  that  "  we 
stand  in  Christ's  stead,  persuading  men  to  be 
reconciled  to  God." 

And  once  more,  we  have  in  the  definition  of 
the  sermon  its  method.  It  is  a  man  speaking  to 
men.  It  is  not  rapt  monologue,  nor  profound 
discussion,  nor  literary  grace,  nor  impassioned 
eloquence  —  it  is  simply  a  man  speaking  what 
he  himself  has  found  of  spiritual  truth  .to  other 
men,  in  a  way  to  interest  and  instruct  and  per- 
suade. It  implies  the  oral  method.  Christ 
perfected  the  oral  method,  and  the  sermon  is 
bound  to  follow  it.  The  method  of  teaching 
inheres  in  the  method  of  revelation.  It  is  not 
the  book,  or  essay,  or  lecture,  or  oration.     It  is 


42  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

speaking  simply  and  directly  to  men.  The 
preacher  has  two  things  to  do,  —  listen  and 
speak,  —  make  his  nature  open  to  God  and 
vocal  to  men.  Nothing  should  interfere  with 
the  expression  of  his  whole  truth  and  his  whole 
personality,  to  use  the  strong  figure  of  Mr. 
Beecher,  "throw  himself  upon  men."  If  you 
can  speak  the  best  by  writing,  then  writing  should 
be  your  way;  if  the  manuscript  stands  between 
you  and  your  audience,  then  the  manuscript 
should  be  thrown  aside.  Preaching  is  speaking 
and  nothing  else.  A  stilted  idea  of  the  sermon 
often  hinders  true  preaching.  The  young 
preacher  wishes  to  make  his  sermon  like  a 
finished  essay,  full  of  suggestion  and  beauty; 
or  a  strong  treatise  like  a  chapter  from  some 
meaty  book  ;  or  an  eloquent  oration  that  has 
been  born  of  some  special  event.  And  because 
he  strives  after  one  of  these  ideals  and  cannot 
reach  it,  lacks  the  power  of  thought  and  the 
charm  of  style,  he  wearies  of  the  sermon  and 
the  people  are  not  fed.  Hold  to  the  sermon  as 
a  Gospel  message  —  a  word  spoken  to  men. 

"  That  a  man  who  lives  with  God,  whose  de- 
light is  to  study  God's  words  in  the  Bible,  in 
the  world,  in  history,  in  human  nature;  who  is 
thinking  about  Christ  and  man  and  salvation 
every  day,  that  he  should  not  be  able  to  talk 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  43 

about  these  things  of  his  heart,  seriously,  lov- 
ingly, thoughtfully,  simply,  for  two  half-hours 
every  week,  is  inconceivable,  and  I  do  not  be- 
lieve it.     Cast  off  the  haunting  incubus  of  the 
notion  of   great   sermons.     Care  not  for  your 
sermon,  but  for  your  truth  and  your  people ; 
and  subjects  will   spring   up  on   every  side   of 
you,  and  the  chances  to  preach  upon  them  will 
be  all  too  few."1     And  let  us   not   confound 
eloquence  with  preaching.    There  is  a  false  idea 
that  he  who  speaks  well  must  preach  well ;  that 
fluent  speech  and  striking  figures  and  magnetic 
manner  are  the  elements  of  preaching.     They 
may  be  used,  —  we  must  train  and  use  the  gifts 
of  person  and  speech,  — but  preaching  is  more. 
We  might  well  keep  in  mind  the  words  of  Dr. 
Horton  of  London:  "  Eloquence  is  a  gift  which 
the  Lord  does  not  often  use  much  for  His  pur- 
poses—  it  is  a  prancing  palfrey  which  the  Son 
of  man  rarely  rides.     Moses  was  not  eloquent, 
Aaron  was.    The  words  of  the  Lord  came  con- 
stantly to  Moses.     Aaron  had  gifts  of  speech, 
but   he  made    a  golden  calf.      Jeremiah    was 
not  eloquent— his   opponents  apparently  were. 
Jeremiah  stands   on  the  summit  of  prophetic 
work,  and  the  wordy  men  who  gained  the  popu- 
lar ear  in  his  day  are  pilloried  in  the  history  of 
i  Brooks,  "  Lectures  on  Preaching." 


44  The  Ideal  of  Preaching 

the  Kingdom  of  God  as  deceivers.  Paul  was 
not  eloquent,  so  he  tells  us,  Apollos  was,  and 
mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  too.  Yet  we  gather 
that  Paul  with  his  poor  presence,  his  involved 
periods,  his  arguments  like  the  fiery  grinding 
of  a  wheel  on  granite,  received  and  delivered 
more  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  than  Apollos.  It 
would  be  dangerous  to  take  illustrations  nearer 
at  hand.  And  it  is  enough  simply  to  say  that 
natural  eloquence  may  easily  be  a  snare  to  a 
preacher.  Words  may  come  so  abundantly 
that  he  will  not  wait  to  hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord.  To  obtain  the  copious  flow  of  ideas  and 
images  and  feelings  may  be  so  easy  to  him  that 
he  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  traverse  the 
barren  wastes  which  lie  between  him  and  the 
Mount  of  God,  or  to  climb  the  dizzy  path  to 
the  gloomy  cavern  where  the  still  small  voice 
is  heard.  If,  of  course,  he  does  not  shrink  from 
the  toilsome  conditions  and  does  actually  receive 
the  word  of  God,  his  eloquence  may  stand  him 
in  good  stead.  Eloquence  is  useful  if  the  Word 
is  there,  but  it  must  not  be  mistaken  for  the 
Word."1 

The  sum  of   the  matter   is   that    preaching, 
however  it  is  done,  is  the  giving  of  a  word  of 
God  to  men.     The  preacher  must  receive  the 
i  "VerbumDei,"  p.  175. 


The  Ideal  of  Preaching  45 

Word  himself  and  give  his  life  to  it.  And  in 
giving  the  Word  to  others,  he  must  give  his  life 
with  it.  His  word  must  be  given  so  that  the 
truth  shall  be  revealed  and  honored,  so  that 
men  shall  feel  that  they  are  receiving  the  very- 
Word  itself  and  not  mere  opinions  concerning 
it.  The  person  will  be  lost  in  the  message. 
And  if  the  man  possess  the  truth  and  is  pos- 
sessed by  it,  in  this  way  the  whole  man  will 
speak.  "  Preaching  is  God's  Word  through 
a  man." 


$p- 


(aVAjH 


LECTURE   III 
THE  PREPARATION  FOR  PREACHING 


OUTLINE 

1.  The  two  methods  of  preparation,  the  mechanical  and  the 
vital,  the  making  of  a  sermon  and  the  enrichment  of  life. 

2.  The  study  of  the  Bible. 

a  The  general  study;   the  message  of  the  books;   the 

history  of  revelation ;  the  central,  catholic  truths, 

not  an  ism  but  Christianity. 
6  The   need  of  the   study  in  the  original  languages. 

The  call  for  interpreters,   prophets,  personal  and 

spiritual. 
c  The  emphasis  on  Bible  study  from  the  tendencies  of 

organization  and  criticism.      The  authority  of  the 

preacher  as  an  expert  in  religion. 
d  The  relation  of  theological  studies  to  Homiletics. 

3.  The  study  of  preaching. 

a  The  reading  of  sermons  and  the  hearing  of  the  best 
preachers.  To  find  the  methods  of  others,  to  form 
true  ideals,  to  get  suggestion  and  inspiration.  The 
best  recent  sermons.    Examples. 

o  The  study  of  Homiletics,  the  theory  of  preaching.  Not 
an  exact  science,  at  best  suggestive. 

c  The  use  of  note-books.  To  train  the  homiletic  habit, 
the  power  to  see  truth  for  use,  to  help  the  memory, 
and  gather  seed-thoughts  for  sermon-growths. 

d  Practice  in  preaching. 

4.  General  study.  The  preacher  should  be  a  man  of  intel- 
ligence and  culture. 

a  General  study  preserves  the  balance  and  strength  of 

mind. 
6  It  helps  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible.    The  book  of 

man,    to  be  interpreted  in  the  growing  life  of  the 

world, 
c  It  helps  personal  influence,  gives  sympathy  with  men 

and  knowledge  of  the  age. 
d  It  furnishes  material  for  the  sermon,  truth  in  life. 

The  great  teachers  the  masters  of  the  higher  thought 

of  the  language. 
e  Examples:   Philosophy,  History,  Biography,  Science, 

Literature. 

5.  The  study  of  men.  Truth  is  for  life.  We  must  know  men, 
if  we  are  to  know  truth  and  help  men.  Wide  interests  and 
sympathies.  Love  of  the  individual  and  knowledge  of 
society. 

6.  The  spiritual  life.  Personal  appropriation  of  truth.  A 
good  life  the  strongest  force  in  preaching. 

References  : 

Taylor.    "  Ministry  of  the  Word."    2,  3. 
Beecher.    "Yale  Lectures."    Vol.  I,  4. 
W.  Boyd-Carpenter.   "  Lectures  on  Preaching."   1,2. 
Stalker.    "  The  Preacher  and  his  Models."    6. 
Gowan.    "Preaching  and  Preachers."    1. 
Greer.    "  The  Preacher  and  his  Place."    5. 

48 


LECTURE  III 

THE  PREPARATION  FOR  PREACHING 

Every  student  for  the  ministry  asks  with 
some  degree  of  earnestness  and  no  little  anx- 
iety, How  can  I  become  a  worthy  preacher  of 
the  Gospel  ?  The  pressure  of  Christ's  separating 
touch  is  upon  me  and  I  would  shrink  from  no 
labor  "in  His  name."  The  demand  and  the 
difficulty  are  great  and  I  would  meet  them.  I 
would  be  something  more  than  a  conventional 
teacher.  I  would  bring  forth  the  utmost  in- 
crease of  the  talent  God  has  given  me.  I 
would  become  the  best  preacher  possible  with 
my  natural  gifts  and  God's  grace.  Now  how 
can  I  train  myself  for  this  noble  end  ?  What 
am  I  to  be  and  to  do  ?  What  are  the  essential 
elements  in  my  preparation  for  preaching  ?  I 
trust  the  conception  of  the  sermon  has  been 
made  so  clear  and  high  that  the  first  feeling 
is  one  of  lack,  if  not  of  discouragement.  The 
first  thing  in  the  preparation  for  effective 
preaching  is  to  be  sure  of  the  message,  to  have 


50  TJie  Preparation  for  Preaching 

the  right  quantity  and  quality  of  material. 
The  preacher  must  have  something  to  say.  He 
must  not  be  a  Gratiano  who  "  speaks  an  infinite 
deal  of  nothing."  His  reasons  must  not  be 
like  "  two  grains  of  wheat  hid  in  two  bushels 
of  chaff." 

There  are  two  very  different  methods  of 
preparing  for  preaching.  One  is  the  special  or 
cramming  process,  going  to  work  after  getting 
the  text  or  subject  to  gather  sufficient  materials 
from  different  sources,  —  the  Bible,  commenta- 
ries, sermons,  homiletic  handbooks, — to  make 
the  article  of  the  required  length.  I  use  the 
right  word,  "make,"  for  such  a  sermon  is  bound 
to  be  a  manufacture  put  together  from  the  time, 
and  not  in  the  nobler  sense  a  message,  coming 
out  of  the  very  life  of  the  soul. 

The  other  method  is  one  of  systematic  and 
general  culture,  making  one's  self  increasingly 
familiar  with  the  great  subjects  that  belong  to 
religion  and  its  expression,  and  then  the  par- 
ticular sermon  will  be  the  special  selection  and 
expression  of  the  thoughts  and  convictions 
already  yours.  It  will  be  a  word  of  life.  I 
need  hardly  say  which  is  the  more  real  preach- 
ing. A  man's  speech  is  the  resultant  and  in- 
dex of  his  culture.     The  processes  of  the  years 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  51 

come  to  maturity  in  the  fruit  of  his  lips.  And 
the  sermon  is  the  expression  of  the  man's 
spiritual  and  more  moral  culture.  "  How  long 
did  it  take  you  to  prepare  the  sermon  of  the 
morning?"  said  a  friend  to  Henry  Ward 
Beecher.  "  Forty  years,"  was  the  striking 
and  truthful  answer.  Long  courses  of  study, 
thought ;  the  deepest  experiences  and  arduous 
practice  had  their  part  in  the  inspiring  utter- 
ance of  thought  and  feeling.  I  would  suggest 
the  lines  of  immediate  and  lifelong  prepara- 
tion. 

The  Study  of  the  Bible.  — The  Bible  is  to  be 
your  present  and  lifelong  study.  Your  mes- 
sage must  come  from  your  personal  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  if  it  is  to  be  a 
word  of  God  to  men.  The  preaching  of  the 
Christian  pulpit  is  to  be  scriptural ;  its  distinct 
and  simple  mission  the  teaching  of  the  word  of 
God.  Every  problem  that  has  disturbed  the 
minds  of  men  in  the  past  and  every  problem 
that  now  confronts  society  can  be  stated  and 
answered  in  terms  of  the  Scriptures.  The  body 
of  the  sermon,  then,  must  come  from  the  Scrip- 
tures :  its  subject,  authority,  proof,  and  inspira- 
tion. 

Preaching  can  never  be  truly  exalted  at  the 


52  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

expense  of  scholarship.  Exegesis  and  Homilet- 
ics  have  a  vital  relation.  Other  things  being 
equal,  the  man  who  is  the  best  student  of  the 
Bible  will  become  the  best  preacher.  Dare  to  be 
ignorant  of  many  books,  that  you  may  know 
the  one  Book.  Mr.  G.  Campbell  Morgan  has 
recently  given  some  suggestive  hints  as  to 
Bible  study.  Sometimes  read  continuously  a 
book  at  a  sitting,  as  we  do  any  other  book. 
Write  out  your  own  impression,  make  your 
own  analysis  of  the  meaning  and  message  of 
the  book.  Then  correct  and  enlarge  your  in- 
terpretation by  the  study  of  some  of  the  best 
recent  helps.  In  this  way  you  will  get  an  idea 
of  the  history  of  Revelation,  catch  the  purpose 
and  spirit  of  the  whole.  And  this  broader  out- 
look will  correct  a  narrow  and  artificial  use  of 
Scripture,  sometimes  resulting  from  a  micro- 
scopic study  of  single  words  and  phrases.  We 
must  not  lose  the  prophetic  vision  of  the  way  in 
absorbed  study  of  any  single  object. 

In  this  way,  also,  we  shall  get  the  central 
catholic  truth  of  Scripture  and  not  be  pos- 
sessed by  some  peculiar  phase  or  ism  of  Christi- 
anity. The  weakness  of  the  pulpit  is  in  the 
confusion  of  tongues,  each  claiming  to  be  the 
voice  of  God.  Where  is  the  authority  of 
preaching  when  preachers  differ  so  widely  as  to 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  53 

what  is  truth?  Truth,  indeed,  is  many-sided, 
and  no  man  or  society  of  men  can  look  at  once 
upon  all  its  facts.  But  there  are  vital  truths  of 
Revelation  about  which  there  can  be  no  mistake 
in  a  rational  exegesis,  and  these  we  are  to  get 
and  proclaim.  The  authority  of  the  sermon 
will  be  in  its  catholic  truth,  and  not  in  an 
emphasis  which  distinguishes  some  special  body 
of  believers. 

And  there  is  need  for  this  study  in  the 
Scripture  languages.  No  doubt  every  good 
translation  gives  the  substance,  the  vital  truth, 
of  revelation  ;  and  a  man  who  has  no  knowledge 
of  Greek  and  Hebrew  can  still  be  a  respectable 
Bible  student  and  a  helpful  Bible  preacher. 
But  he  cannot  be  the  best,,  and  that  is  what  we 
are  always  aiming  at.  In  any  calling,  a  man  to 
have  authority  must  touch  the  sources.  And 
it  is  especially  true  of  religion  that  asks  so 
much  of  men,  and  in  its  authors  is  connected  in- 
separably with  the  person.  As  language  is  the 
chief  expression  of  the  person,  it  would  seem 
important  to  know  the  language  in  which  the 
person  gave  his  truth.  It  is  not  the  place  to 
enter  into  minute  argument  for  the  study  of  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  Scriptures.  Enough  here 
to  say  that  such  study  puts  one  into  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  sacred  writers  and  so  helps  to  their 


54  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

true  interpretation ;  it  leads  to  patient  thorough- 
ness, to  the  mental  humility  essential  to  a 
spiritual  learner  ;  it  gives  a  fresh,  suggestive, 
personal  message ;  it  corrects  a  partial  and  ec- 
centric view  of  the  Gospel  by  the  consensus  of 
the  best  scholars ;  it  is  the  true  conserver  of 
liberty  and  orthodoxy  :  and  the  worthy  scholars 
are  practically  all  students  of  the  original 
languages,  so  that  even  their  work  cannot  be 
fully  understood  without  something  of  this 
knowledge. 

Though  you  may  never  become  independent 
students  of  Hebrew  and  Greek,  the  study  is  in- 
valuable if  it  help  you  to  understand  the  work 
of  others  and  give  you  the  humility  and  patience 
of  the  true  learner.  "  Not  know  Hebrew  ?  " 
said  Lord  Tennyson  in  surprise  to  Mr.  Jowett, 
the  Master  of  Balliol,  to  whom  he  had  gone  for 
some  knotty  question  of  Job.  "  You  a  teacher 
of  religion  and  not  know  your  sacred  books  ?  " 
The  pulpit  always  needs  —  chiefly  needs  to-day 
—  spiritual  interpreters,  the  personal,  indepen- 
dent, reverent  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures. 

The  need  of  Bible  study  for  the  preacher 
gets  special  emphasis  from  the  tendencies  of 
organization  and  criticism.  The  tendency  of 
the  modern  church  is  more  and  more  toward  a 
highly  organized  body  of  workers,  and  the  time 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  55 

and  strength  of  the  pastor  must  be  given  to  the 
planning  and  direction  of  this  work.  This  will 
certainly  cripple  the  preacher  in  so  far  as  it  is  a 
temptation  to  neglect  his  study  and  the  thought- 
ful preparation  of  the  sermon.  The  temptation 
will  be  too  great  for  men  unless  they  have  the 
fixed  habits  of  Bible  study.  Bible  study  alone 
can  save  us  from  the  weakness  of  a  superficial 
and  sensational  pulpit. 

And  criticism  has  weakened  the  accent  of 
authority  ;  it  has  put  too  many  men  on  the 
defensive  and  given  to  others  the  feeling  of 
uncertainty  ;  the  pulpit  has  lacked  the  posi- 
tive spirit  of  humble  certitude.  The  negative 
effects  of  criticism  are  no  doubt  passing,  and 
the  constructive  results  are  taking  its  place. 
But  the  composition  of  the  Scriptures,  the 
theory  of  inspiration,  the  forms  of  doctrine,  will 
always  be  exposed  to  change,  from  science, 
criticism,  archaeology,  and  comparative  religion. 
The  preacher  alone  who  is  a  systematic  student 
of  the  Bible  can  use  the  light  from  all  these 
sources  and  find  the  spiritual  realities  of  the 
Gospel  made  all  the  clearer.  It  was  the  late 
Dr.  Behrends,  who  as  a  busy  pastor  had 
worked  his  way  twice  through  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  who  could  say,  "  You  need  not, 
you  should  not,  make  the  pulpit  the  arena  of 


56  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

debate  upon  questions  in  dispute  ;  you  need  not, 
you  should  not,  pose  as  the  advocate  of  this  or 
that  theory  of  inspiration,  of  this  or  that  school 
of  critical  inquiry  ;  but  you  can  and  you  ought 
to  use  your  Bible  as  the  record  of  the  Revela- 
tion of  God  to  men,  and  give  men  plainly  to 
understand  that  this  is  the  vital  marrow  of 
Scripture,  a  living  fact  whose,  presence  and 
power  cannot  be  ignored,  and  which  is  wholly 
independent  of  either  the  lower  or  higher 
criticism."  1 

We  have  considered  the  relation  of  the  study 
of  the  Bible  to  preaching.  We  should  go  a 
step  farther  and  ask  the  relation  of  theological 
studies  to  preaching.  All  studies  of  the  semi- 
nary course  have  their  direct  and  vital  relation 
to  preaching :  The  Greek  and  the  Hebrew, 
that  we  may  have  in  the  sermon  the  honest, 
accurate,  fresh  message  of  God  ;  Theology,  that 
we  may  understand  the  relation  of  one  truth  to 
another,  and  so  present  the  Gospel  in  its  true 
proportion ;  History,  that  we  may  have  the 
perspective  of  truth  and  make  men  realize  the 
continuity  of  faith  ;  Social  ethics,  that  we  may 
understand  the  practical  problems  of  our  gener- 
ation and  the  relation  of  Christianity  to  them. 
So  every  study  of  the  seminary  has  practical 
i  "Philosophy  of  Preaching,"  p.  128. 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  57 

bearing  upon  the  work  of  Homiletics.  Here  it 
is  focussed  ;  here  it  finds  practical  voice. 
"  Homiletics  teaches  the  minister  to  apply  and 
render  fruitful  in  the  service  of  the  Church  of 
God  the  knowledge  which  he  has  already 
acquired  in  the  theoretic  domain." 

The  Study  of  Homiletics  or  the  Special  Prepa- 
ration for  Preaching.  —  Most  men  have  been  led 
to  preach  by  reading  or  hearing  some  inspir- 
ing preacher.  A  young  artist  stood  before  a 
masterpiece  and  expressed  his  admiration  and 
his  aspiration,  too,  in  the  words,  "  I  too  am  a 
painter."  The  awakening  in  us  of  the  pro- 
phetic spirit  we  owe  to  the  prophets.  And  it 
is  good  frequently  to  hear  the  best  men  of  our 
time,  the  men  who  are  spiritual,  unselfish  men, 
who  understand  the  age,  who  have  a  vital 
message  and  who  are  blessed  of  God  in  their 
work.  We  should  listen  in  no  idle  spirit  of 
curiosity  and  pleasure  but  with  a  serious  mind, 
to  be  fed  by  the  truth,  to  be  inspired  by  the 
man,  to  analyze  his  work,  to  know  its  truth  and 
method,  the  secret  of  its  power,  and  to  ask  how 
we  may  be  helped  by  it.  Hundreds  of  ministers 
weekly  listened  to  Dr.  Joseph  Parker's  Thurs- 
day sermon,  and  they  are  doing  the  same  for 
his    successor,    Mr.    R.    J.    Campbell.     Hero- 


58  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

worship  is  the  only  wholesome  idolatry.  The 
great  impulses  of  life  are  personal.  We  awake 
to  self-knowledge  in  the  light  of  great  exam- 
ples ;  our  spirits  are  chastened  in  their  pres- 
ence and  the  best  of  us  comes  to  life.  We 
need  not  be  afraid  of  imitation.  Every  poet 
has  tuned  his  voice  at  some  other  lyre.  We 
shall  work  through  following  to  the  freedom  of 
our  own  kingdom. 

The  reading  of  sermons  is  not  so  good  as  the 
hearing  of  the  preacher,  but  it  is  the  best  that 
many  men  have.  Something  is  lost  in  the 
printed  page  that  makes  the  highest  excellence 
of  preaching.  Phillips  Brooks  says  that  ser- 
mons that  are  good  to  hear  are  not  good  to 
read,  but  his  own  sermons  are  the  disproof  of 
his  statement.  The  life  does  not  evaporate 
with  the  printer's  ink.  Only  a  few  sermons 
are  literature,  but  we  have  a  noble  body  of 
English  sermons  for  our  study  of  the  truth, 
method,  and  spirit  of  preaching.  Some  men 
have  an  ill-founded  prejudice  against  the  read- 
ing of  sermons,  as  though  it  would  impair  their 
own  originality.  An  honest  man  need  have 
no  fear.  Suggestion  we  want,  not  plagiarism. 
It  is  a  true  scientific  method  of  forming  a 
standard  of  work.  It  is  the  careful  study  of 
individuals    and    from    the    many   particulars 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  59 

reaching  some  universal  principles  of  work. 
We  know  what  others  have  done.  We  find 
some  things  that  have  made  them  successful. 
We  form  worthy  ideals  of  the  sermon.  And  we 
get  inspiration  and  suggestion  for  ourselves. 

Read  sermons  not  simply  for  spiritual  food, 
but  to  cultivate  what  is  well  called  the 
"honiiletic  habit";  that  is,  the  power  to  see 
and  use  truth  for  public  speech.  So  you  will 
read  sermons  not  only  with  a  "wise  passive- 
ness,"  but  with  a  definite  purpose  of  study,  to 
form  estimates  and  train  the  powers  of  pulpit 
speech.  Study  the  theme  as  related  to  the 
text.  Make  an  outline  plan.  Notice  the  na- 
ture of  the  illustrations,  trace  the  development 
of  the  argument,  the  unity  and  movement  of 
the  whole.  And  I  would  say  in  this  connection, 
daily  read  the  Scriptures  and  practise  interpre- 
tation with  some  practical  use  in  view.  The 
purpose  to  use  truth  for  other  lives  will  help  to 
interpret  truth  and  give  the  growing  power  to 
use  the  simple,  personal  message. 

Read  the  best  recent  sermons.  It  is  not  so 
profitable  to  be  familiar  with  the  preaching  of 
the  past,  however  great.  Spurgeon's  devotion 
to  the  great  Puritan  preachers  is  not  to  be  com- 
mended if  it  means  the  ignorance  of  worthy 
contemporaries.       Flavel   and   South,   Jeremy 


60  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

Taylor  and  Robert  Hall,  spoke  a  message 
for  their  own  generation.  But  each  age  has 
its  peculiar  difficulties  and  problems  and  often 
receives  "more  light  from  God's  word."  And 
so  the  best  preachers  for  us  to  study  are  those 
who  speak  in  the  language  of  the  present. 

Do  not  confine  your  study  to  the  preachers 
of  any  one  Church.  In  all  churches  are  men 
through  whom  God  speaks. 

Robertson  has  something  of  Shakspere's 
power  of  uncovering  the  hidden  springs  of 
action,  revealing  man  to  himself.  And  with 
this  power  of  self-revelation  he  joins  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  with  suggestiveness  and 
spiritual  application. 

Kingsley  shows  the  breadth  and  manifold 
interests  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  makes 
preaching  a  present  message. 

Spurgeon  gives  the  evangelical  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel  with  the  strength  of  homely  idiom 
and  telling  symbol  and  great  heart. 

Canon  Liddon  brings  the  riches  of  exegesis 
and  theology  and  philosophy  to  the  pulpit,  and 
gives  to  the  sermon  the  distinction  of  his  re- 
fined and  spiritual  personality. 

Alexander  Maclaren  is  always  the  expositor, 
using  Scripture  as  proof  and  illustration,  and 
never  unmindful  of  the  duty  and  art  of  per- 
suasion. 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  61 

Horace  Bushnell  is  the  spiritual  interpreter, 
ever  seeking  beneath  the  form  of  fact  and 
doctrine  for  the  divine  life,  and  with  much 
of  Robertson's  power  of  insight  and  expres- 
sion, though  without  his  passion. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  gives  the  truth  the 
vividness  of  imagination  and  passion  and  glori- 
fies the  ethics  of  the  Gospel. 

Phillips  Brooks's  sermons  are  great  with  the 
singleness  of  a  great  mind  and  heart.  Philo- 
sophic breadth,  spiritual  insight  into  the  truth 
and  man,  and  unwearied  enthusiasm  for  hu- 
manity make  him  a  prophet  of  the  generation. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  mention  other  modern 
preachers.  While  the  group  of  creative  minds, 
as  in  literature,  has  passed,  the  number  of 
thoughtful,  helpful  men  is  legion.  And  what 
I  earnestly  wish  is  that  you  may  be  careful 
students  of  some  of  the  best  modern  preachers. 
Do  not  make  the  commonplace  your  ideal. 
While  you  aim  at  the  appreciative  knowledge 
of  the  age,  take  some  one  or  two  men,  who  in 
a  peculiar  way  speak  to  you,  and  make  them 
your  companions  —  your  masters  rather.  Think 
their  thoughts,  speak  their  language,  receive  the 
impress  of  their  personality.  In  this  way  you 
will  learn  to  be  preachers. 

Next  to  the  study  of  preachers,  the  concep- 


62  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

tion  of  preaching  is  to  be  gained  by  the  mas- 
tery of  the  theory  of  preaching.  The  theory  of 
preaching  is  the  orderly  statement  of  the  laws 
that  have  been  used  in  the  formation  of  sermons. 
It  is  the  attempt  to  understand,  as  far  as  method 
goes,  the  secret  of  the  sermons  that  have  been 
blessed  to  men.  It  is  reported  that  a  well- 
known  teacher  of  Homiletics  said  to  his  class : 
"  If  you  will  follow  the  laws  of  these  lectures, 
you  can  all  become  preachers."  I  do  not 
assent  to  any  such  mechanical  idea  of  the 
pulpit.  No  study  of  Homiletics  can  make 
preachers;  but  it  can  tell  us  what  the  experience 
of  the  pulpit  has  found  helpful;  things  to  be 
avoided  and  others  to  be  done,  and  so  holds 
before  us  a  certain  standard  or  conception  of 
our  work.  Homiletics  is  not  an  exact  science. 
It  is  at  best  suggestive.  You  will  do  well  to 
master  the  suggestions  or  principles  of  Homi- 
letics, so  that  they  shall  become  a  working 
theory,  and  then  forget  them  in  the  free  expres- 
sion of  your  truth  in  the  best  way  possible. 

The  Note-Book. —  I  now  mention  a  method  of 
preparation  which  may  seem  trivial  at  first 
sight  to  some  minds.  But  its  use  by  writers 
and  thinkers  whom  we  are  bound  to  respect  lifts 
it  out  of  the  mechanical  and  trivial. 

Have  a  note-book  into  which  you  shall  gather 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  63 

texts  of  Scripture  that  have  been  used  by  others 
or  give  promise  of  use,  outlines  of  sermons, 
hints  at  the  meaning  of  texts,  truths  and  illus- 
trations suggested  from  any  source.  You  may 
find  such  a  book  a  storehouse  from  which  you 
may  draw  at  need,  far  better  than  any  hand- 
book because  honestly  your  own  ;  but  chiefly 
such  a  book  will  be  helpful  in  forming  the 
habit  of  seeing  and  gathering.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
has  this  striking  reference  to  his  own  practice: 
"Whenever  I  have  been  permitted  sufficient 
respite  from  my  ministerial  duties  to  enjoy  a 
lengthened  tour,  or  even  a  short  excursion,  I 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  carrying  with  me  a 
small  note-book,  in  which  I  have  jotted  down 
any  illustrations  which  have  occurred  to  me  by 
the  way.  My  recreations  have  been  all  the 
more  pleasant  because  I  have  made  them  sub- 
servient to  my  life-work.  The  note-book  has 
been  useful  in  my  travels  as  a  mental  purse. 
If  not  fixed  upon  paper,  ideas  are  apt  to  vanish 
with  the  occasion  which  suggested  them.  A 
word  or  two  will  suffice  to  bring  an  incident  or 
train  of  thought  to  remembrance  ;  and  there- 
fore, it  would  be  inexcusable  in  a  minister,  who 
needs  so  much,  not  to  preserve  all  that  comes  in 
his  way." 

A  fuller  use   of  a  note-book  in  reading  is 


64  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

suggested  by  Dr.  R.  W.  Dale  of  Birmingham, 
and  the  word  takes  importance  from  the  inde- 
pendent and  original  mind  of  the  speaker :  "  To 
retain  the  results  of  your  reading,  most  of  you, 
I  think,  will  find  it  necessary  to  read  with  pen 
in  hand  and  with  a  few  sheets  of  paper  on  your 
desk.  A  brief  analysis  of  the  principal  lines  of 
thought  in  a  great  book,  and  occasional  extracts 
containing  the  most  formal  definitions  of  the 
author's  theory,  and  his  characteristic  techni- 
calities, will  enable  you  to  recall  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  volumes,  which  might  otherwise  fade 
from  your  memory;  unless,  indeed,  your  mem- 
ory is  far  less  treacherous  than  my  own.  In 
preparing,  two  or  three  years  ago,  a  series  of 
lectures  on  the  Atonement,  I  was  able  to  save 
myself  a  large  amount  of  labor,  by  using  notes 
of  this  kind  which  I  had  written  sixteen  or 
seventeen  years  before.  If,  as  you  read,  you 
discuss  in  your  notes  the  author's  arguments, 
and  criticise  his  theories,  you  will  obtain  at  the 
time  a  more  complete  mastery  of  your  position, 
and  your  notes  will  be  more  useful  to  you 
afterward."1 

Mr.  Beecher  is  not   often   thought   of   as  a 
systematic  student.    He  was  a  genius,  and  such 
creative  powers  often  disregard  the  methods  of 
1  "Yale  Lectures." 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  65 

common  men.  But  his  note-books  speak  of  the 
most  painstaking  method.  He  made  a  close 
and  detailed  study  of  the  Bible.  "The  Gospels 
he  read  and  reread  with  the  greatest  care,  using 
all  possible  helps ;  making  notes  of  the  results 
of  his  meditations ;  and  sometimes  giving  all 
his  strength  to  a  careful  analysis  of  the  points 
of  the  history  or  discourse."  Mr.  Pond,  who 
travelled  thousands  of  miles  with  him  in  his 
lecture-tours,  says  that  "  Bible  reading  and 
study  was  a  part  of  his  daily  work  while  on  the 
train."  His  note-books  were  found  to  contain 
"subjects,  heads  of  sermons  jotted  down  at 
moments  of  inspiration  —  in  the  family  circle, 
on  the  railroad,  in  the  street  car,  after  a  talk 
with  some  friend  .  .  .  :  these  were  the  acorn- 
thoughts  out  of  which  grew  up  in  time  strong, 
wide-spreading  oak-tree  sermons." 

Phillips  Brooks  was  always  thinking  of  his 
work,  always  preparing  for  preaching.  Prob- 
ably the  most  striking  revelation  of  his  biog- 
raphy is  his  tise  of  note-books.  He  seems  to 
have  read  pen  in  hand,  and  vital  thought  did 
not  fail  of  its  permanent  personal  record.  Es- 
pecially in  his  theological  preparation,  when 
that  eager  mind  was  finding  itself  and  expand- 
ing by  feeding  upon  world-literature,  did  he 
fill    book    after    book   with   his   analyses   and 


66  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

meditations.  It  is  most  interesting  to  compare 
his  sermons  with  the  notes  of  his  study  and 
reading.  The  germinal  idea  is  in  his  note- 
book, and  then  the  growth  by  long  thought 
and  experience  into  the  full  message  of  the 
sermon. 

These  great  men  are  testimony  enough  to  the 
value  of  some  method  for  preserving  the  results 
of  study.  The  time  taken  is  well  spent  though 
you  may  read  fewer  books.  It  will  train  the 
spiritual  vision,  the  power  of  interpretation,  the 
habit  of  meditation,  and  gather  stores  so  that 
you  may  never  suffer  from  the  dearth  of  help- 
ful thought. 

Then  we  learn  to  preach  by  preaching.  We 
clarify  and  possess  our  own  thought,  we  gain 
the  mastery  of  our  powers  of  speech,  we  learn 
how  to  approach  men,  and  how  to  instruct  and 
influence  audiences  of  men,  by  constant  practice. 
The  apprenticeship  of  the  preacher  is  long.  In 
fact  the  art  is  long;  we  shall  never  succeed 
in  doing  the  work  as  we  ought,    f 

But  when  shall  this  practice  of  preaching 
begin  ?  The  churches  that  exalt  the  office  and 
training  of  the  ministry  are  inclined  to  post- 
pone preaching  until  near  the  close  of  the  the- 
ological training.  The  Presbyterian  Schools 
of  Scotland  are  devoted  to  learning  and  have 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching 


67 


little    practical   training    in   preaching.      The 
practice  of  onr  own  Seminaries  has  been  modi- 
fied by  the  necessity  and  freedom  of  American 
life  but  they  have  practically  the  same  ideal. 
Bishop  Brooks  rises  his  genial  wit  on  the  men 
who  exercise   the   feeble  light   of   the  coming 
ministry.     The  freer  churches  in  Great  Britain 
and  America  teach  their  young  men  to  preach 
as  a  dog  is  taught  to  swim,  "by  throwing  him 
into   the   water."     Mr.  Spurgeon   was   a   boy 
preacher.      Alexander   Maclaren,    Dr.    Joseph 
Parker,  Dr.  Dale,  and  his  successor  Mr.  Jowett, 
all  began  to  preach  before  they  had  systematic 
theological  training.     No  doubt  the  mean  be- 
tween   these   extremes   is    the   best   for   most 
young  men.      The   power   of   the   preacher  is 
often  in  inverse  proportion  to  his  fluency  and 
facility.     It  is   fatal   to  gain   the  mastery  too 
young.      George   Eliot's   criticism   of    George 
Dawson  of  Birmingham  was  that  "he  had  the 
misfortune  to  speak  too  early  and  freely  upon 
the  greatest  things."    You  cannot  exalt  Homi- 
letics  by  ignoring  the  serious  studies  of  the- 
ology.    You  must  have  something  to  say  before 
you  can  safely  speak.     And  yet  the  practice  of 
preaching   will    keep    Bible   study   from   cold 
scientific  theory  and  speculation,  make  all  truth 
for  life,  and  correct  personal  defects  and  de- 


6S  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

velop  powers  at  the  very  formative  time  when 
such  influences  should  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  life.  We  should  constantly  practise 
preaching  under  criticism.  It  is  in  harmony 
with  the  laws  of  all  mental  and  spiritual 
training. 

The  minister,  more  than  any  other  of  the 
so-called  learned  professions,  needs  the  prepa- 
ration of  general  culture.  He  must  be  a  reader 
of  some  of  the  world's  best  books.  He  needs 
to  be  intelligent  and  appreciative  in  other  fields 
than  theology.  Every  candidate  for  licensure 
in  the  Church  is  properly  examined  in  science 
and  arts.  These  studies  are  supposed  to  pre- 
cede a  special  theological  training,  and  some 
study  in  the  general  field  of  culture  ought  to  be 
continued  as  long  as  the  mind  retains  its 
strength.  We  cannot  know  all  things ;  we 
must  know  one  thing  well.  The  growth  of 
the  world's  knowledge  and  literature  makes 
selection  imperative.  But  a  system  in  work 
and  a  concentration  while  we  work  —  some- 
thing of  the  calculation  and  devotion  that 
Austin  Phelps  of  Andover  had  —  will  find  the 
hour  for  general  reading.  And  every  minister 
can  have  some  favorite  study  which  shall  be 
both  the  means  of  knowledge  and  recreation. 

The  urging  of  the  wider  preparation  of  cul- 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  69 

ture  is  not  the  contradiction  of  the  aphorism, 
"  Beware  the  man  of  one  book."  There  is 
always  a  danger  in  breadth.  Wider  interests 
may  weaken  the  strength  of  conviction  and 
cool  the  ardor  of  zeal.  But  we  are  to  suppose 
that  the  enriched  man  will  devote  his  full  man- 
hood to  the  work  that  God  gives  him.  There 
are  no  wasted  powers,  no  unused  attainments 
and  experiences  to  the  man  who  has  the  single 
mission  of  giving  the  word  of  God.  The  mists 
from  a  score  of  peaks,  the  rain-treasures  of  a 
score  of  valleys,  may  all  run  bright  and  joyous 
in  the  current  of  his  speech. 

We  are  to  have  interest  in  the  best  thought 
of  the  world  to  enrich  the  life  and  preserve  the 
health  and  balance  of  the  mind.  It  is  a  law  of 
our  nature  that  we  tend  to  become  like  the 
thing  we  do.  Every  work  leaves  its  mark 
upon  the  worker.  One  faculty  constantly  used 
or  used  in  one  direction  becomes  fixed  and  worn 
in  that  way.  And  we  must  exercise  other 
faculties  and  in  other  spheres  of  thought  if  our 
life  is  to  be  sane  and  wholesome,  if  even  the 
religious  faculties  are  to  be  true  in  their  work- 
ing. The  minister,  from  the  very  seriousness 
and  absorption  of  his  work,  more  than  most 
men  needs  hours  of  play  and  the  exercise  of 
thought  in  other  spheres  than  religion. 


70  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

Thomas  Taylor,  the  Platonist,  used  to  show 
with  pride  two  of  his  ringers  which,  in  copying 
out  the  manuscript  of  Proclus  and  Plotinus  in 
a  fine  Greek  hand,  had  been  so  bent  that  he  had 
lost  the  use  of  them.  Our  studies  of  one  sub- 
ject often  produce  corresponding  mental  de- 
formity. The  mind  may  become  morbid  and 
untrue  in  judgment  if  kept  in  one  continuous 
channel  of  thought. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  was  fond  of  wielding  the  geolo- 
gist's hammer,  and  he  likened  his  loved  study 
to  the  opening  of  the  windows  of  the  mind  that 
God's  pure  air  might  blow  through  its  rooms. 

We  need  general  culture  properly  to  inter- 
pret the  word  of  God.  "  To  read  nothing  but 
the  Bible  is  the  way  not  to  understand  the 
Bible,"  says  Dr.  Strong  of  Rochester  Baptist 
Seminary,  and  his  own  study  of  the  great  poets 
for  the  past  twenty  summers  has  had  a  marked 
influence  upon  his  growth  and  his  conceptions 
of  Christian  truth.  The  Bible  is  the  Book  of 
human  life  —  God's  revelation  in  human  his- 
tory —  and  it  must  be  interpreted  and  applied 
in  the  growing  life  of  the  world.  Outside  the 
Bible  God  has  not  left  himself  without  witness. 
The  Holy  Spirit  that  spoke  through  holy  men 
of  old  likewise  brooded  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters  and  lives   in   the   vision   of   poet   and 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  71 

reformer,  and  teacher  and  statesman,  the  living 
Lord  that  makes  possible  the  spiritual  progress 
of  the  race.  The  very  riches  of  the  nations  is 
to  be  gathered  into  His  Kingdom.  The  man 
who  has  this  view  of  the  world,  who  finds 
divine  meaning  in  letters  and  science  and  arts, 
who  sees  God's  hand  in  history,  who  interprets 
the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  struggles  for  social 
betterment,  will  have  a  different  attitude  tow- 
ard the  Scriptures,  —  he  will  be  delivered  from 
the  hardness  of  the  letter  into  the  freedom  of 
the  spirit.  A  cultivated  and  full  mind  will  be 
delivered  from  partial  and  eccentric  views  and 
aim  to  teach  truth  in  its  unity  and  harmony. 
Its  rationality  can  be  depended  upon. 

And  the  effect  of  broad  studies  and  sympa- 
thies upon  men  is  to  be  considered.  They  help 
to  make  influential  men,  leaders  of  the  higher 
life  of  the  community.  Generous  culture  wins 
intellectual  respect  from  men  who  care  little  for 
religion.  It  may  be  an  open  door  into  the 
sympathies  of  men,  through  which  we  may  be 
able  at  last  to  take  the  Master  and  His  message 
with  us.  "  He  never  came  into  my  shop,"  said 
a  blacksmith  of  Dr.  Norman  McLeod  of  Glas- 
gow, "without  talking  with  me  as  though  he 
had  been  a  blacksmith  all  his  life.  But  he 
never  went  away  without  leaving  Christ  in  my 


72  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

heart."  Mr.  Campbell  of  the  London  City 
Temple  was  the  guest  at  the  New  York  Press 
Club  dinner  because  of  his  literary  knowledge 
and  sympathies.  Interest  in  the  common  hu- 
man life,  familiarity  with  the  best  expression  of 
it,  will  give  the  preacher  a  standing-ground  of 
common  experience  with  his  hearers  and  clothe 
his  message  in  the  language  of  real  life.  "  The 
sermon  must  have  heaven  for  its  father  and 
earth  for  its  mother." 

And  this  general  reading  will  furnish  rich 
materials  for  the  sermons.  Topics  that  have 
interested  men  will  be  suggested,  truths  that 
have  affected  the  conduct  of  men  and  shaped 
the  direction  of  an  age.  We  shall  be  better 
able  to  understand  the  forces  that  form  the 
ideals  and  govern  the  conduct  of  the  age.  We 
shall  be  men  who  know  the  times  —  not  the 
superficial  currents,  but  the  life -forces.  And 
the  illustrations  of  truth  that  bring  it  into  the 
sphere  of  life,  lighting  it  up  by  a  common 
experience  and  giving  it  a  personal,  practical 
hold  of  men,  will  come  crowding  to  us  from  such 
reading.  The  sermon  reveals  the  poverty  or 
riches  of  a  man's  thought  and  life.  The  great 
teachers  have  been  the  masters  of  the  higher 
thoughts  of  the  language.  It  is  said  of  Dr. 
Farrar's    sermons    as    Head-master    of    Marl- 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  73 

borough  :  "  These  sermons  will  illustrate  one 
of  his  strongest  characteristics  as  a  preacher,  — - 
the  power,  namely,  of  riveting  great  moral 
truths  upon  the  mind  by  apt  and  striking  quo- 
tations from  the  poets,  which  lingered  in  the 
memory  even  after  the  sermon  itself  was  for- 
gotten."1 

We  may  study  philosophy,  not  to  philoso- 
phize in  the  sermon,  —  that  would  be  to  misuse 
both  the  pulpit  and  philosophy,  —  but  to  gain 
the  power  of  keen  analysis  and  exact  definition, 
the  knowledge  of  the  human  mind  and  the  mo- 
tives of  life,  and  to  make  ourselves  familiar  with 
the  progress  of  thought  and  the  theories  that 
affect  the  beliefs  and  movements  of  men.  It  is 
a  fact  that  philosophy  has  largely  shaped  the  con- 
ceptions of  theology.  Canon  Liddon  preached 
to  a  great  and  popular  audience  in  St.  Paul's, 
and  he  made  the  resources  of  his  spiritual  and 
intellectual  life  intelligible  to  the  humblest 
hearer.  He  preached  a  simple  and  positive 
Gospel,  and  yet  his  sermons  are  an  indirect 
record  of  modern  thought  in  the  phases  of  truth 
which  he  presented  to  meet  popular  error  and 
strengthen  faith. 

History  and  biography  help  us  to  understand 
life  and  show  us  the  essential  unity  of  man.  It 
1  "  Life  of  Dean  Farrar,"  p.  143. 


74  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

is  everything  for  a  young  preacher,  placed  per- 
haps in  the  isolation  of  a  remote  parish  or  in  the 
unformed  life  and  confusion  of  a  modern  city, 
to  steady  himself  with  a  long  perspective,  to 
interpret  events  in  the  light  of  other  times,  to 
know  what  other  men  have  experienced  and 
achieved.  There  is  nothing  better  than  Mis- 
sionary biography  to  strengthen  one's  own 
faith  and  courage,  and  stimulate  the  higher  life 
of  the  Church. 

Take  Dr.  Storrs's  lectures  on  "  Christianity 
proved  by  its  Historical  Effects  "  as  the  product 
of  lifelong  study  of  history.  If  our  sermons 
could  reflect  something  of  this  light  on  the 
Scriptures,  they  would  gain  force  of  argument 
and  make  intelligent  and  stable  Christians. 

The  study  of  nature  affects  the  thinking  of 
men  to-day  as  never  before.  It  is  the  scientific 
age  and  some  theory  of  development  has  con- 
quered every  realm  of  thought  with  the  excep- 
tion of  theology.  The  preacher  needs  the  spirit 
of  the  best  men  of  science,  the  spirit  of  patience, 
thoroughness,  and  reality.  And  he  would  be  a 
gainer  by  a  genuine  love  of  nature,  that  would 
often  take  him  far  afield  in  study  or  sport,  in 
eager  recreation  or  quiet  meditation.  Such  a 
mind  sees  through  a  calm  and  pure  atmosphere, 
and   sometimes  has  revelations  of  life  and  of 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  75 

divine  truth  not  given  to  the  student  of  books. 
It  is  something  to  make  men  see  that  this  is 
God's  world  and  to  love  it  and  use  it  as  His 
children,  because  He  called  it  "very  good." 
But  the  use  of  nature  must  be  genuine  and 
first-hand.  Hugh  Macmillan  shows  us  the 
Bible  teachings  of  nature.  And  not  long  ago 
audiences  of  Glasgow  mechanics  were  gathered 
and  taught  the  chief  truths  of  the  Gospel,  be- 
cause those  truths  were  clothed  and  illustrated 
in  the  language  of  science,  and  Drummond's 
"Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World"  made 
an  era  in  religious  thought. 

English  literature,  especially  the  nobler  poe- 
try, is  in  many  ways  the  richest  field  outside 
the  Bible  for  the  preacher's  training  and  treas- 
ures. Such  study  will  be  drawing  from  the 
pure  well  of  English  speech.  You  will  get 
the  use  of  the  best  and  choicest  diction.  The 
preacher  should  be  the  constant  student  of  lan- 
guage, both  in  the  best  literature  and  in  the 
daily  speech  of  men. 

We  want  to  grow  in  our  accurate  use  of 
words,  that  the  word  may  stand  for  the  reality; 
in  the  artistic  use,  that  the  ideality  of  men  may 
be  reached  ;  and  in  the  vernacular  use,  that  we 
may  know  the  processes  of  men  about  us,  and 
our  speech  convey  realities,  and  not  have  a  far- 
away sound. 


76  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

And  such  study  will  strengthen  and  develop 
the  imagination,  the  ideality,  the  power  of 
vision,  so  vitally  connected  with  the  spiritual 
life.  The  power  of  truth  over  us  is  in  propor- 
tion to  our  vivid  realization  of  it  and  not  in 
proportion  to  our  assent  to  its  formulas.  Rob- 
ertson of  Brighton  went  to  a  club  of  working- 
men  whom  he  could  not  get  to  come  to  his 
church,  and  lectured  upon  English  poetry  and 
read  many  noble  passages  to  them,  not  only 
because  such  thought  is  worthy  of  a  man,  but 
because  poetry  would  break  the  spell  of  the 
senses,  the  hard  routine  of  toil,  and  with  its 
pictures  of  the  ideal,  its  admiration  for  the 
beautiful  and  the  heroic,  would  awaken  the 
soul  and  make  it  conscious  of  spiritual  capaci- 
ties and  cravings.  Poetry  will  bring  to  you 
the  great  thoughts  of  the  race,  often  inspired  by 
the  spirit  of  God,  rich  with  symbols  and  analo- 
gies of  divine  truth.  Every  great  English  poet 
from  Chaucer  to  Browning  will  help  you  to 
feather  the  arrows  of  truth,  will  furnish  you 
with  emblem  or  phrase  impregnated  with  some 
word  of  God  that  will  impinge  upon  the  minds 
of  men. 

And  lastly  we  shall  get  materials  of  sermons 
out  of  men.      Charles    Kingsley  said    that  he 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  77 

often  got  lessons  of  trust  and  hope  from  the 
bedside  of  the  lowly  which  he  took  back  to  the 
same  lives  as  God's  ministry  of  comfort.  Noth- 
ing can  speak  of  God  as  a  man  may,  and  little 
children —  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
We  cannot  live  in  books  if  we  are  to  preach 
to  lives.  We  cannot  dwell  in  cloisters  if  we 
are  to  mould  society.  Sermons  born  of  such 
seclusion  will  be  pious  monologues,  rapt  medi- 
tations, suggestive  and  beautiful  perhaps,  but 
utterly  lacking  in  the  power  to  reach  the  bosom 
and  business  of  men.  We  are  always  to  study 
life,  and  get  as  close  to  the  hearts  of  men  as  we 
can. 

Beecher  says :  "  A  man  who  would  minis- 
ter to  a  diseased  body  must  have  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  organs,  and  of  the  whole 
structure  of  the  body,  in  a  sanitary  condition. 
We  oblige  our  physicians  to  know  anatomy  and 
physiology.  We  oblige  them  to  study  morbid 
anatomy,  as  well  as  normal  conditions.  We 
say  that  no  man  is  prepared  to  practise  with- 
out this  knowledge,  and  the  law  interferes,  or 
does  as  far  as  it  can,  to  compel  it.  Now,  shall 
a  man  know  how  to  administer  to  that  which 
is  a  thousand  times  more  subtle  and  important 
than  the  body,  and  which  is  the  exquisite  blos- 
som of  the  highest  development  and  perfection 


78  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

of  the  human  system;  namely,  the  mind  in  its 
modern  development, —  shall  he  assume  to  deal 
with  that,  and  raise  and  stimulate  it,  being 
ignorant  of  its  nature  ?  A  man  may  know  the 
Bible  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  he  may  know 
every  theological  treatise  from  the  day  of  Au- 
gustine to  the  day  of  Dr.  Taylor,  and  if  he  does 
not  understand  human  nature,  he  is  not  fit  to 
preach."1 

And  I  think  in  this  connection  a  glimpse 
at  Mr.  Beecher's  habits  of  studying  men  would 
be  helpful.  It  is  found  in  the  same  lecture, 
p.  97.  "  You  must  be  familiar  with  men  ;  and 
you  are  fortunate  if  you  have  been  brought  up' 
in  a  public  school.  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
human  nature  learned  by  boys  among  boys,  and 
by  young  men  among  men.  That  is  one  of  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  large  gatherings  of 
young  men.  A  man  who  has  struggled  out 
from  between  the  stones  of  a  farm,  and  who 
has  fought  his  way  through  the  Academy, 
with  the  pity  of  everybody,  —  a  pity  which 
might  well  be  spared,  because  it  was  God's 
training,  —  has  a  fine  education  for  practical 
life,  because  he  knows  men.  The  study  of  man 
is  the  highest  of  sciences. 

"Besides  this  general  knowledge  we  are  to 
lu  Yale  Lectures,"  p.  85. 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  79 

have,  we  should  take  kindly  to  individual  men, 
for  the  very  purpose  of  studying  them.  Now  I 
take  great  delight,  if  ever  I  get  a  chance,  in 
riding  on  the  top  of  an  omnibus  with  the 
driver,  and  talking  with  him.  What  do  I  gain 
by  that?  Why,  my  sympathy  goes  out  for 
these  men,  and  I  recognize  in  them  an  element 
of  brotherhood,  —  that  great  human  element 
which  lies  underneath  all  culture,  which  is 
more  universal  and  more  important  than  all 
special  attributes,  which  is  the  great  generic 
bond  of  humanity  between  man  and  man.  If 
ever  I  saw  one  of  these  men  in  my  Church,  I 
could  preach  to  him,  and  hit  him  under  the 
fifth  rib  with  an  illustration,  much  better  than 
if  I  had  not  been  acquainted  with  him.  I  have 
driven  the  truth  under  many  a  plain  jacket. 
But  what  is  more,  I  never  found  a  plain  man 
in  this  world  who  could  not  tell  me  many 
things  that  I  did  not  know  before.  There  is 
not  a  gate-keeper  at  the  Fulton  Ferry,  or  an 
engineer  or  deckhand  on  the  boats,  that  I  am 
not  acquainted  with,  and  they  help  me  in  more 
ways  than  they  know  of.  If  you  are  going  to 
be  a  minister,  keep  very  close  to  plain  folks; 
don't  get  above  the  common  people." 

The  special  effect  of   this  sympathetic  rela- 
tion with  men  and   knowledge  of   them  upon 


80  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

our  preaching  is  well  expressed  by  Dr.  John 
Watson  in  a  lecture  on  "  The  Technique  of 
the  Sermon."  And  because  he  comes  upon  this 
subject  from  another  side,  I  quote  the  passage 
entire.  He  calls  the  fourth  canon  of  the  ser- 
mon Humanity.  "  One  has  heard  able  and 
pious  sermons  which  might  as  well  have  been 
preached  in  Mars,  for  any  relation  they  had  to 
our  life  and  environment.  They  suggested  the 
address  a  disembodied  spirit  might  give  to  his 
brethren  in  the  intermediate  state,  where  it  is 
alleged  we  shall  exist  without  physical  corre- 
spondence. This  detached  sermon  is  the  only 
credible  evidence  for  such  an  unimaginable 
state,  but  otherwise  it  does  not  appear  effective. 
While  the  preacher  should  be  very  sparing 
with  '  I,'  it  ought  to  be  possible  for  an  expert 
to  compose  a  biography  of  him  from  a  year's 
sermons. 

"  If  one  live  in  the  country,  he  ought  to  master 
ploughing  and  sowing  and  harvesting;  if  he 
reside  in  a  seaport,  he  ought  to  know  the  docks, 
with  their  strange  cargoes  and  foreign  vessels  ; 
if  his  work  be  in  a  manufacturing  city,  he  ought 
to  have  learned  the  processes  ;  and  if  his  lot 
be  cast  in  a  fishing  village,  then  it  is  a  reflec- 
tion on  him  should  he  not  understand  the  sail- 
ing of  a  boat.    The  minister  ought  to  be  soaked 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  81 

in  life  ;  not  that  his  sermons  may  never  escape 
from   local    details,  but  rather    that,  being  in 
contact  with  the  life  nearest  him,  he  may  state 
his  Gospel  in  terms  of  human  experience.     No 
doctrine  of  the  Christian  faith  is  worth  preserv- 
ing which  cannot  be  verified  in  daily  life,  and 
no    doctrine  will  need   to    be    defended  when 
stated  in    human   terms,  —  above  all   the  lan- 
guage of  home.    The  principle  of  vicarious  sacri- 
fice, for  instance,  that  one   person  should  get 
good  from  another's  sufferings,  may  be  proved 
to  be  true  by  texts  of  Holy  Scriptures,  and  it 
may  also  be  shown  to  be  absurd  by  argument ; 
but  it  may  be  placed  beyond  criticism  by  refer- 
ence to  a  mother,  through  whose  sufferings  and 
self-denial  the  child  lives  and  comes  to  strength. 
It  was  Jesus'  felicitous  manner  to  remove  his 
Evangel  from  the  sphere  of  abstract  discussion, 
and  to  assert  its  reasonableness  in  the  sphere  of 
life.     '  What  man  among  you  ?  '  was  his  favor- 
ite plea.     God  does  exactly  what  a  man  does  or 
wants  to  do  when  he  is  at  his  best.    The  Divin- 
ity of  a  sermon  is  in  proportion  to  its  human- 
ity." i 

The  wider  your  interests,  the  more  you  can 
do,  the   better  you  can  preach   the  Gospel  to 
men.    And  here  is  the  real  argument  for  gener- 
i  "  Cure  of  Souls,"  p.  55. 


82  The  Preparation  for  Preaching 

ous  culture  and  sympathies,  not  only  that  such 
a  life  is  larger,  with  more  resources  within, 
more  true  delight,  but  chiefest  that  such  a  life 
has  more  ways  to  receive  and  understand  the 
message  of  God,  and  more  ways  by  which  the 
Word  may  be  given  to  others.  Every  gift  and 
training  is  another  side  to  God  and  to  men. 
Cultivate  then  in  these  days  of  sentiment  and 
association  —  when  the  world  seems  interesting 
and  the  light  of  hope  rests  upon  all  —  cultivate 
friendships.  Make  fast  friends  of  the  men  by 
your  side.  Compel  yourself  to  think  of  others 
and  have  interest  in  all  that  concerns  their  lives. 
Mingle  in  society,  rub  up  against  men,  have  a 
part  in  the  sports  of  youth.     Despise  no  man. 

"  He  who  feels  contempt 
For  any  living  thing,  hath  faculties 
Which  he  has  never  used  ;  that  thought  with  him 
Is  in  its  infancy." 

Learn  to  love  the  individual ;  in  imitation  of 
our  Lord,  become  a  friend  of  men,  putting  your- 
self in  their  place,  that  out  of  a  sympathetic 
experience  you  may  know  how  to  help. 

Through  all  this  preparation  is  the  thought 
of  life.  And  the  life  that  we  are  leading  will 
have  everything  to  do  with  our  conceptions  and 
our  real  work.  The  spiritual  influence  of  a 
preacher  in  the  long  run  is  in  proportion  to  his 


The  Preparation  for  Preaching  83 

character.  An  old  minister  once  said  in  a 
charge  to  a  young  candidate  :  "  Young  man, 
you  are  called  to  this  church  not  in  the  first 
place  to  preach  sermons  or  make  pastoral  calls, 
but  to  live  among  the  people  the  best  life  you 
can."  All  that  makes  a  man  disciplined, 
thorough,  sincere,  magnanimous,  unselfish,  helps 
the  sermon.  To  have  it  said  that  you  are  a 
good  man,  —  not  simply  that  you  preach  good 
sermons,  but  that  the  unconscious  impression 
of  the  man  is  good,  —  this  is  the  strongest  and 
most  lasting  force  in  preaching. 

It  is,  therefore,  well  for  us  to  think  much 
upon  the  aim  of  the  Gospel,  in  saving  men  from 
sin  and  developing  a  righteous  life ;  upon  the 
motive  of  our  work,  constrained  by  the  love  of 
Christ;  upon  the  divine  sanctions,  God's  mes- 
sage we  are  to  give,  and  if  "  we  separate  the 
precious  from  the  vile,  our  mouth  shall  be  as 
God's  mouth";  upon  the  cooperating  agent, 
the  Spirit  of  God,  "  who  can  take  the  things  of 
Christ  and  show  them  unto  us,"  and  make  our 
word  a  message  and  revelation  of  the  Christ. 


LECTURE   IV 
PREPARATION  OF  THE  SERMON 


OUTLINE 


The    method    of    preparation    should   he    individual.     The 
ethod  that  will  hest  find  and  express  the  personal  message. 

1.  The  seed-thought. 

a  Does  the  subject  or  the  text  come  first?  Testimony 
of  Phillips  Brooks.  Relation  to  habits  of  study  and 
wealth  of  experience. 

6  The  sources:  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  reading, 
daily  life. 

2.  The  growth.    The  thought  sometimes  comes  fully  formed : 
again  by  long  gestation. 

a  Truth  always  on  the  stocks.    Testimony  of  Watkin- 

son.     Truth  will  gather  form  and  substance  from 

all  experience.      Some  methods.     (Bible-indexing, 

cards  or  slips.) 
b  Think  for  yourself.    Take  stock  of  your  knowledge. 

Shape  the  thought  for  teaching.    Make  a  plan  for 

study, 
c  How  the  truth  may  become  a  living  message.  (1)  Study 

the  best  helps.    Enrich  your   thought  by  reading. 

Originality  and  plagiarism.   (2)  Meditate.    (3)  Pray. 

(4)  Appropriate.    The  element  of  time  in  growth. 

3.  The  structure. 

a  The  theme.  (1)  The  need.  (2)  Reasons  for  its  state- 
ment. (3)  Its  relation  to  the  text  and  the  sermon. 
(4)  What  goes  to  the  forming  of  a  theme  ?  (5)  The 
wording  of  the  theme  :  plain,  clear,  concise.  Strong 
preachers  marked  for  striking  themes. 

6  The  plan.  The  tendency  to  ignore  or  disguise  plan. 
(1)  The  need  of  the  plan  for  the  preacher  and  the 
hearer.  (2)  What  should  be  aimed  at  in  the  plan? 
(3)  How  shall  the  plan  be  made  ?- 

4.  The  expression. 

a  It  should  be  your  own,  not  burdened  with  quotation. 

b  It  should  aim  to  make  truth  clear  and  impressive. 

c   It  should  be  adapted  to  the  people. 

d  The  influence  of  reading  on  expression. 

e  The  use  of  the  pen  as  a  quickener  of  thought. 

References  : 

Watson.     "  Cure  of  Souls."    1. 
Burton.    "Yale   Lectures,"   assimilation  of   ser- 
mon material. 
Horton.    "  Verbum  Dei."    6. 
Simpson.    "  Yale  Lectures."    5. 
Dale.    "Yale  Lectures."    5. 

86 


LECTURE   IV 
PREPARATION   OF  THE   SERMON 

We  have  discussed  the  general  preparation 
for  preaching,  the  Biblical  and  general  culture 
that  fits  a  man  to  be  a  spiritual  teacher.  Now 
I  wish  to  come  closer  to  the  actual  work  of 
preaching,  and  pat  gifts  and  training  to  use, 
set  the  man  at  work  preparing  his  sermon. 
You  have  been  in  the  power  room  or  house  of 
some  great  factory  and  there  seen  the  working 
of  the  machine  that  conveys  power  to  the  re- 
motest corners  of  the  buildings.  And  I  would 
have  you  use  your  imagination  and  picture  the 
preacher  at  work  and  think  of  the  processes  by 
which  study  and  experience  become  the  message 
in  its  full  form,  the  expression  of  truth  and  life. 

The  method  of  preparation  should  be  indi- 
vidual. There  should  be  no  procrustean  bed  of 
sermon  forming.  If  each  man's  life  is  not  felt 
in  the  forming  of  the  sermon,  then  the  sermon 
is  mechanical,  it  lacks  life,  and  is  not  preaching 
in  the  best  sense.  Another  man  cannot  tell 
you  just  how  to  prepare  your  sermon.  Dr. 
87     '  v 


88  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

Parkhurst  says  that  his  own  method  is  only  a 
warning  to  young  men.  Whatever  suggestion 
you  get  from  others,  or  inspiration,  you  must 
take  the  method  that  will  best  find  and  express 
your  personal  message.  But  do  not  let  your 
method  be  an  accidental  or  superficial  or 
thoughtless  one.  May  it  come  from  the  knowl- 
edge of  experience,  what  will  best  fit  your 
powers,  what  you  can  do  the  best.  Let  me 
warn  you  that  your  best  may  not  be  the  easiest. 
"  No  two  men  are  precisely  similar,  or  think 
of  truth  alike,  or  see  the  men  to  whom  they 
speak  in  the  same  light.  Consequently  the 
make  of  every  man's  sermons  must  be  different 
from  the  make  of  every  other  man's.  Nay,  we 
may  carry  this  farther.  No  live  man  at  any 
one  moment  is  just  the  same  as  himself  at  any 
other  moment,  nor  does  he  see  truth  always 
alike  ;  and  therefore  in  his  sermons  there  must 
be  the  same  general  identity  combined  with 
perpetual  variety  which  there  is  in  his  life. 
And  the  making  of  every  sermon,  while  it  may 
follow  the  same  general  rules,  will  be  a  fresh 
and  vital  process."1 

The  Seed-thought.  —  The  seed-thought  is  first. 
It  may  be  a  single  text  or  truth,  sharp  and  clear 
1  Brooks,  "Lectures  on  Preaching,"  p.  144. 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  89 

and  authoritative,  demanding  utterance,  from 
which  you  cannot  escape.  Some  would  say 
that  a  word  of  God  always  carries  this  sign  of 
authority.  It  must  find  you  and  possess  you 
before  you  have  a  right  to  speak.  How  it 
comes  you  may  not  always  know,  placed  in  your 
mind  by  the  Spirit,  caught  from  some  daily  study 
and  experience,  as  the  seed  is  put  into  the  earth 
in  a  thousand  ways.  You  uncover  the  rock,  a 
little  soil  gathers  upon  it,  and  forthwith  the  seed 
springs  up.  You  can  trace  the  sermons  of  Phil- 
lips Brooks  back  to  the  seed-thoughts  of  his  wide 
reading  and  meditation  in  his  seminary  days. 

Does  the  subject  or  the  text  come  first? 
Phillips  Brooks  says  :  "  The  history  of  a  partic- 
ular sermon  begins  with  the  selection  of  a 
topic.  Ordinarily,  except  in  purely  expository 
preaching,  that  comes  before  the  selection  of  a 
text.  And  the  ease  and  readiness  of  this  selec- 
tion depends  upon  the  richness  of  a  man's  own 
life,  and  the  naturalness  of  his  conception  of  a 
sermon.  I  can  conceive  of  but  two  things 
which  should  cause  the  preacher  any  difficulty 
in  regard  to  the  abundance  of  subjects  for  his 
preaching.  The  first  is  a  sterility  of  his  own 
mind ;  the  second  is  a  stilted  and  unnatural  idea 
of  what  the  sermon  he  is  going  to  write  must 
be"  (p.  149). 


90  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

The  man  speaks  here  out  of  the  fulness  of  his 
own  life  and  experience.  Whether  the  text 
comes  first,  giving  us  our  seed-thought;  or  from 
our  reading  or  experience  with  men,  some  sub- 
ject is  suggested  which  we  and  other  men  need, 
and  which  we  narrow  into  a  definite  theme  and 
connect  with  some  passage  of  Scripture,  makes 
no  great  difference.  It  will  depend  upon  our 
nature  and  habits  of  study  and  the  depth  and 
fulness  of  our  experience.  No  doubt  a  man 
with  years  behind  him  will  often  have  sub- 
jects first,  but  a  young  man  will  oftenest  get  his 
truth  from  his  Scripture  study.  And  the  surest 
way  to  have  rich  and  abundant  suggestions  for 
sermons  is  to  be  a  systematic  student  of  the 
Scriptures. 

But  the  suggestions  for  sermons,  the  seed- 
thoughts,  will  come  in  many  ways,  often  as 
many  and  strange  as  the  carrying  of  seeds  in 
nature:  from  our  Bible  study,  our  daily  read- 
ing, our  contact  with  other  lives,  personal 
struggles,  the  silence  of  the  inner  chamber,  and 
our  effort  to  help  another  life.  If  we  have  the 
instinct  and  the  vision,  we  shall  find  them. 
The  sound  soul  craves  for  truth  as  we  do  for 
light,  and  the  preacher  will  have  the  trained 
instinct,  as  keen  for  truth  that  will  help  others 
as  the  hound  upon  the  scent.     And  the  Spirit 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  91 

of  God  will  bring  to  the  open  sensitive  heart, 
to  "a  wise  passiveness,"  the  most  vital  impres- 
sions. The  point  is  to  be  open-minded,  trained 
to  see,  always  looking,  and  then  not  losing 
the  seed-thoughts  through  carelessness  or  lack 
of  method.  Whatever  is  helpful  for  preaching 
should  be  put  down,  so  that  we  shall  not  forget  it, 
so  that  we  shall  often  see  it,  and  so  the  processes 
of  accumulation  and  growth  may  set  in.  Jona- 
than Edwards  had  a  table  and  candle  by  his 
bed  and  put  down  any  suggestion  of  truth  that 
came  to  him  in  the  night-watches. 

The  Growth.  —  How  shall  the  seed-thought 
grow  into  the  sermon  ?  Sometimes  the  thought 
comes  fully  formed  ;  it  springs  into  full  growth 
like  magic  before  our  eyes.  The  text,  the 
theme,  the  plan,  the  development,  stand  like  a 
wondrous  vision  before  the  mind.  We  may  be 
grateful  and  also  walk  humbly  as  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God  when  such  is  our  experience.  It  is 
not  simply  a  fertile  imagination,  a  deft  facility 
of  adjustment,  but  in  the  processes  of  the  mind 
we  must  believe  there  is  the  working  of  the 
Divine  Spirit.  There  are  diversities  of  opera- 
tions, and  He  is  in  the  sudden  vision  and  in 
the  long  toilsome  process.  Dr.  George  Mathe- 
son   wrote   the   hymn    that   we  love   to    sing, 


92  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

"  O  love  that  wilt  not  let  me  go,"  in  a  few 
minutes,  with  no  conscious  effort,  the  words 
flowing  from  the  pen  as  rapidly  as  the  ink; 
but  the  long  processes  of  life  were  in  that 
moment  of  inspiration.  The  best  sermons 
will  grow,  and  growth  is  not  the  matter 
of  a  moment.  It  takes  time,  and  we  must 
allow  for  time  in  our  method  of  sermon- 
preparation.  Truth  comes  to  its  life  by  long 
gestation. 

The  first  thing  in  growth  is  to  have  subjects 
always  in  hand  —  "  truths  on  the  stocks." 

The  Rev.  W.  L.  Watkinson  has  well  said : 
"  The  brain  of  a  true  preacher  is  always  in  a 
state  of  fermentation,  and  a  hundred  poten- 
tial discourses  await  their  hour.  He  has 
brooded  over  many  things,  and  the  thoughts 
of  his  heart  are  at  length  revealed  by  solicit- 
ing and  stimulating  circumstances." 

It  is  wonderful  how  a  thought  in  the  mind 
will  gather  suggestion  from  the  reading  and 
experience  of  the  day.  It  seems  at  times  as 
though  everything  you  did  threw  some  light 
upon  the  truth.  It  is  a  magnet  to  gather  all 
the  helpful  things  of  life.  But  without  the 
truth  in  mind  you  will  not  gather  and  probably 
not  even  see.  And  the  truth  held  in  mind 
will  not  only  gather  from  experience,  but  you 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  93 

will  find  that  it  is  a  larger  and  richer  truth 
by  simply  being  held  in  the  mind,  by  the 
silent  processes  of  mental  growth,  and  by  the 
very  life  of  the  mind  that  seems  beneath  con- 
sciousness. 

We  must  try  to  have  subjects  ahead,  great 
truths  or  texts  that  strike  us  as  helpful,  and 
have  some  method  to  record  the  material  that 
has  gathered  by  reading  and  meditation.  Some 
men  index  their  Bibles.  On  the  margin  or  on 
blank  leaves  opposite  texts  they  write  sugges- 
tions or  references  to  books  that  come  to  them. 
The  Bible  thus  becomes  the  catalog  and  store- 
house of  their  life.  A  card  or  slip  is  a  good 
plan,  with  the  text  or  subject  at  the  top  and 
then  the  gathering  of  the  days  below. 

By  all  means  do  your  own  thinking.  Fix 
your  thought  upon  the  text  and  subject,  and  try 
to  penetrate  to  its  vital  meaning.  Find  the 
message  for  your  own  soul  in  it.  Believe  in 
the  spirit  of  truth  and  learn  to  trust  your 
own  judgment  as  enlightened  by  His  influence. 
Do  not  go  at  once  to  commentaries  and  homi- 
letic  handbooks  for  material,  but  let  your  own 
thought  grow  by  thinking.  Take  stock  of  your 
own  mental  and  spiritual  resources.  Be  thor- 
oughly yourself  and  find  your  own  voice,  for  in 
this  way  only  will  you  have  that  personal  and 


94  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

individual  flavor  which  makes  the  charm  of  true 
preaching. 

Shape  your  thoughts  for  teaching;  ask  not 
simply  for  the  truth  for  your  own  life,  but  how 
can  this  truth  be  spoken  so  that  it  will  help 
other  lives,  and  make  what  seems  a  practical 
working  plan  of  your  thought.  By  this  process 
alone  you  may  have  all  the  truth  you  need  to 
speak ;  at  least,  it  will  be  a  direction  for  your 
thought,  a  plan  for  further  study. 

And  such  study  you  will  generally  be  led  to 
make  —  driven  to  make.  Your  thought  will 
suggest  its  limits  rather  than  its  resources,  and 
you  will  feel  the  need  of  the  quickening  influ- 
ence of  other  minds. 

How  shall  the  truth  that  God  has  given  you 
grow  into  a  living  message  ? 

Study  the  best  helps — whatever  will  help  you 
to  understand  the  Scriptures,  correct  or  enlarge 
your  own  views,  give  to  you  the  certitude  of 
truth,  strengthen  your  own  convictions,  and 
throw  light  upon  its  relation  to  life.  I  should 
not  hesitate  to  read  sermons  on  the  subject,  but 
I  should  prefer  those  on  related  themes,  acting 
as  inspirers  of  thought  more  than  directly  fur- 
nishing material. 

An  honest  man  will  not  suffer  himself  to  use 
the  thoughts  of  others  save  as  he  can  assimilate 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  95 

them  and  make  them  his  own.  He  will  be 
above  the  vanity  of  borrowed  plumage.  A 
homely  garb  is  infinitely  better  than  the  finest 
garments  of  another.  A  sincere,  genuine  man- 
hood will  keep  a  man  from  plagiarism.  He 
will  wish  always  to  be  himself  and  true  to  him- 
self. In  a  discussion  on  "  originality  and  pla- 
giarism" a  recent  English  writer,  Joseph 
Gowan,  says :  "  Those  who  appear  to  have 
taken  the  soundest  views  of  the  matter  and  who 
have  no  crotchets,  say  that  it  is  permissible  to 
use  the  materials,  the  arguments,  the  illustra- 
tions of  others,  and  that  it  is  very  rarely  nec- 
essary to  make  acknowledgments.  What  is 
considered  objectionable  is  the  adoption  of  the 
writing  of  others,  whether  verbal  or  in  substance, 
without  any  attempt  at  mental  assimilation  " 
(p.  53). 

The  whole  question  of  thinking  and  reading 
is  finely  expressed  by  Richter,  "Never  read 
until  you  have  thought  yourself  hungry  ;  never 
write  until  you  have  read  yourself  full." 

And  F.  W.  Robertson,  highly  cultured  and 
gifted  though  he  was,  needed  the  stimulus  of 
other  minds  :  "  I  have  spent  this  evening  in 
reading  thoughtfully  and  meditating  on  Nean- 
der's  4  Doctrine  of  St.  John,'  imbuing  my  mind 
with  a  tone  of  thought  for  Sunday  next.     I  find 


96  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

that  to  be  the  only  way  in  which  my  mind 
works.  I  cannot  copy,  nor  can  I  now  work 
out  a  seed  of  thought,  developing  it  for  myself. 
I  cannot  light  my  own  fire  ;  but  whenever  I 
get  my  fire  lighted  from  another  life,  I  can 
carry  the  living  flame  as  my  own  into  other  sub- 
jects, which  become  illuminated  in  the  flame." 

Meditation  is  an  essential  process  if  we  are  so 
to  understand  truth  that  it  shall  become  a  liv- 
ing message.  It  is  not  re  very,  the  sweet  doing 
nothing  of  thought.  Meditation  is  the  long 
and  earnest  brooding  of  thought,  the  strong  and 
steady  grasp  of  ideas,  holding  them  before  the 
mind  until  they  become  vivid,  all-possessing 
realities  ;  it  is  the  rapt  and  eager  contemplation 
of  spiritual  things.  We  must  be  still  if  we  hear 
God  speak  ;  we  must  have  the  attentive  eye 
if  the  glory  of  truth  is  to  be  revealed  ;  we 
must  think  if  we  have  anything  vital  to  speak. 
"Talk,  talk,  talk  forever,  and  no  retreat  to 
fructifying  silence,"  is  Dr.  Horton's  satire  of  a 
pulpit  too  busy  or  superficial  to  meditate.  We 
must  live  on  the  ideal  side  if  we  are  to  be  mas- 
ters of  truth  and  masters  of  human  hearts. 

And  then  we  cannot  know  and  speak  God's 
truth  well  without  frequent  prayer.  We  can 
never  charge  the  mind  unless  we  are  properly 
insulated.       We    have    too    many    prayerless 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  97 

studies  and  faithless  prayers.  We  live  by  the 
daily  impartation  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  see 
the  truth  by  the  illumination  of  the  spirit  of 
truth.  The  sermon  cannot  pulse  with  the  en- 
thusiasm for  humanity  without  the  Spirit  that 
sheds  abroad  in  the  heart  the  love  of  Christ. 
By  our  conscious  seeking  the  preparation  of  the 
sermon  should  be  begun  and  continued  and 
ended  in  God.  "To  have  prayed  well  is  to 
labor  well." 

The  appropriation  of  truth  cannot  be  omitted 
in  the  preparation  of  the  sermon.  "Preach 
out  of  your  own  defects  "  was  the  sententious 
saying  of  the  late  Dr.  Upson.  You  must  preach 
to  yourself  before  you  can  preach  to  others, 
might  well  be  added.  Truth  must  come  not 
over  the  lips,  but  through  the  life  if  it  is  to 
be  a  word  of  power.  A  man  can  have  a  mes- 
sage only  so  far  as  he  can  experience  the  truth. 
"  Realize  in  experience,"  said  Dr.  R.  W.  Dale, 
"without  haste  and  impatience,  the  contents 
of  the  Christian  revelation,  and  then  you  will 
be  able  both  to  think  and  to  state  them." 
Effective  speaking  depends  upon  the  medita- 
tion and  appropriation  so  that  truth  becomes 
a  possession. 

"  Take  time :  the  process  of  thinking  espe- 
cially should  be  prolonged ;  it  is  not  so  impor- 


98  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

tant  that  the  process  of  writing  should  be  slow. 
It  is  when  the  subject  has  been  long  tossed 
about  in  thought  that  the  mind  begins  to  glow 
about  it ;  the  subject  itself  gets  hot  and  begins 
to  glow  and  flash,  until  at  last  it  can  be 
poured  forth  in  a  facile  but  glowing  stream."1 

The  Structure.  —  The  message  must  have 
definite  statement,  theme,  and  plan  if  it  is  to 
grow  into  an  effective  instrument  of  instruction 
and  persuasion. 

The  Theme  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the 
definite  sermon  preparation.  It  defines  the 
particular  truth  of  the  sermon,  or  it  states 
the  particular  truth  to  be  established  and 
applied  in  the  sermon. 

The  words  "  subject "  and  "  theme  "  are  used 
by  many  interchangeably,  but  it  is  a  loose  use 
of  terms,  the  result  of  hazy  thought  and  indefi- 
nite aim.  The  subject  is  general;  the  theme 
is  particular.  "Faith"  is  a  subject;  "The 
Promptitude  of  Faith  "  2  is  a  theme.  "  Faith  " 
is  broad  and  general;  it  makes  no  affirma- 
tion or  denial,  it  suggests  no  limits  or  pur- 
pose. The  "  Promptitude  of  Faith  "  is  specific, 
gives  definite  relations,  and  has  an  unmistakable 
purpose. 

i  Stalker.  2  Matt.  xii.  13. 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  99 

The  habit  of  newspaper  notices  often  leads 
to  a  subject  as  more  striking,  as  "  The  Pattern 
in  the  Mount "  or  "  The  Plough  and  the  King- 
dom," while  a  definite  theme  in  each  case 
directs  the  course  of  the  sermon. 

The  need  of  a  theme  as  distinct  from  a  sub- 
ject is  easily  seen.  The  tendency  of  every 
young  preacher  is  to  bring  in  truths  not  vitally 
connected,  to  discuss  many  things  at  the  ex- 
pense of  singleness.  Clearness  of  thought  and 
distinctness  of  impression  demand  the  use  of  a 
theme  and  not  a  subject. 

A  subject  is  often  too  broad  a  field  for  a  sin- 
gle sermon;  only  a  definite  theme  will  keep 
from  barren  and  uninteresting  generalities. 
Robertson  has  a  sermon  on  "  Worldliness." 1 
The  subject  apart  from  the  definite  materials 
of  the  passage  would  lead  the  average  mind 
to  commonplaces.  The  real  theme  is,  "Why 
the  Christian  cannot  love  the  world,"  and  this 
theme  Robertson  unfolds  with  accurate  and 
suggestive  interpretation.  Truth  in  Scripture 
is  always  stated  with  definite  relations ;  it  points 
in  a  particular  way,  and  if  we  get  the  exact 
thought  of  the  Word,  we  shall  be  saved  from 
the  trite  and  commonplace.  Then  it  is  a  mis- 
take to  think  that  the  general  is  the  most 
1 1  John  ii.  15-17. 


100  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

fruitful  of  thought.  When  we  limit  the  view, 
the  characteristic  features  will  be  seen.  We 
are  to  use  the  microscope  of  reverent,  eager 
study,  to  find  and  express  the  riches  of  a  lim- 
ited field.  Every  sermon,  then,  should  have  a 
theme  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  interest,  and 
definite  impression. 

Shall  the  theme  be  stated  ? 

It  is  good  for  the  preacher  and  the  hearer 
that  the  theme  be  given.  The  statement  lays 
upon  the  preacher  the  obligation  of  clear,  con- 
sistent, and  continuous  following,  and  the  pur- 
pose thus  held  before  all  will  tend  to  quicken 
the  mental  and  moral  nature. 

Men  cannot  listen  well  without  knowing  the 
definite  thought  to  be  discussed.  Many  of  the 
audience  are  untrained  or  indisposed  to  con- 
secutive thinking.  The  moment  the  relation  of 
thought  is  not  understood,  the  mind  begins 
to  wander.  There  is  interest  also  in  following 
the  theme.  The  mind  finds  pleasure  in  it,  and 
so  is  open  to  the  truth.  The  theme  is  needed 
for  the  audience  to  receive  and  hold  and  appro- 
priate the  thoughts  of  the  sermon. 

The  distinct  enunciation  of  the  thought  and 
purpose  may  sometimes  be  kept  until  near  the 
close  of  the  sermon,  or  form  its  conclusion, — 
and  this  in  the  case  of  unwelcome  truth,  whose 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  101 

statements  at  the  beginning  might  needlessly 
arouse  prejudice  and  opposition.  There  is  no 
deceit  in  such  reserve,  no  method  unworthy 
the  Christian  teacher.  It  is  simply  using  com- 
mon wisdom  and  tact,  discussing  truth  on 
common  and  sympathetic  ground,  and  so  pre- 
paring the  mind  step  by  step  to  receive  the  full 
message  at  last. 

Dr.  Phelps  truly  remarks  that  it  makes  a 
difference  whether  one  aims  at  the  reason  or 
the  feelings.  For  men  generally  respect  the 
utmost  frankness  and  directness,  however 
strenuously  they  object  to  the  doctrine,  when 
the  preacher  appeals  to  their  reason. 

Relation  of  the  Theme  to  the  Text  and  the 
Sermon.  —  The  theme  should  contain  as  nearly 
as  possible  the  exact  thought  of  the  text.  As 
soon  as  it  is  announced,  the  audience  should 
be  able  to  recognize  the  fact  that  it  expresses 
the  essential  message  of  the  Scripture  chosen. 
"  The  Blind  Man's  Creed,"  *  "  The  Hunger  of 
the  Soul,"2  "Does  it  Pay?"3  have  this  self- 
evidencing  virtue.  Then  the  theme  should 
be  identical  with  the  substance  of  the  sermon, 
and  it  should  suggest  enough  for  helpful  and 
impressive  discussion. 

"  One  of  the  most  noticeable  things  about  the 
1  John  ix.  25.  2  Luke  xv.  7.  8  Matt.  xvi.  26. 


102  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

sermons  of  Horace  Bushnell  is  the  relation  be- 
tween text  and  theme.  When  they  have  been 
announced,  he  has  already  half  preached  the 
sermon.  The  theme  is  not  a  happy  hint  nor 
a  catching  phrase,  but  is  the  subject  itself  in 
little.  He  starts  with  a  full  conception  of 
his  discourse,  not  working  his  way  into  it, 
but  working  it  out,  having  already  gone 
through  it.  Hence  it  is  not  a  tentative  grop- 
ing after  truth,  but  the  truth  itself  in  brief,  but 
clear,  proportions.  The  title  of  the  first  dis- 
course in  '  Sermons  for  the  New  Life,'  '  Every 
Man's  Life  a  Plan  of  God,'  contains  his  whole 
thought  on  the  subject.  It  took  a  great  truth 
out  of  dialectic  theology,  where  it  deadened 
action,  and  made  it  a  living  force.  It  was  not 
a  great  sermon  as  compared  with  some  others, 
but  was  great  because  of  its  timeliness  and 
the  shrewdness  of  its  address.  The  text,  'I 
girded  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me,' 
matched  the  theme,  each  piquing  interest  and 
forcing  attention."1 

What  goes  to  the  forming  of  a  Theme  ? 

It  is  a  practical  question  to  ask,  How  should 
a  man  determine  the  form  of  his  theme? 

Two  things  will  enter  into  the  theme,  —  the 
knowledge  of  the  text  and  the  definite  aim 
1  Munger's  "  Life  of  Bushnell." 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  103 

of  the  sermon.  Either  alone  will  not  be 
sufficient.  The  knowledge  of  the  text  will 
make  a  man  accurate  and  scriptural,  but  he 
may  be  lacking  in  timeliness  and  point  of 
contact.  The  aim  alone  considered  may  make 
the  theme  direct  and  practical,  but  lacking  the 
flavor  of  the  text  and  the  authority  of  Scrip- 
ture.    Both  together  determine  a  man's  theme. 

We  are  to  get  the  knowledge  of  the  text  first, 
its  exact  logical  or  historical  meaning.  That 
will  usually  give  the  general  subject.  Then 
what  shall  we  do  with  it  —  will  shape  and 
sharpen  it  into  a  specific  theme. 

What  shall  we  do  with  it  ?  The  special  aim 
of  the  sermon  will  usually  be  determined  by 
two  considerations.  What  is  the  special  mes- 
sage that  the  text  brings  to  my  own  heart? 
A  text  that  has  no  message  for  the  preacher 
has  none  for  the  church.  A  man  must  first 
preach  to  himself  if  his  word  is  to  find  the 
reason  and  conscience  of  other  men. 

Then  you  will  ask  what  special  need  of  men 
may  be  met  by  this  truth?  Do  others  feel  as 
I  do?  What  is  there  in  the  lives  of  my  people 
that  shall  determine  me  to  preach  this  truth? 
The  preacher  implies  the  student  of  men  — 
the  insight  into  the  forces  of  life  about  him; 
and   the   lover   of   men,  that   sympathetic   in- 


104  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

terpretation  of  their  lives  that  shall  find  the 
exact  message  of  God  for  them.  What  the 
truth  is  and  what  we  are  to  do  with  it  will 
shape  the  theme. 

The  wording  of  the  Theme.  —  Should  a  theme 
always  be  worded  differently  from  the  language 
of  the  text?  Dr.  Phelps  makes  the  strong  affir- 
mation that  it  should,  and  he  bases  it  on  the 
ground  that  the  theme  is  the  interpretation 
of  the  text,  and  there  is  no  interpretation  if 
the  exact  words  are  used.  But  this  statement 
seems  based  on  a  misunderstanding.  The 
theme  gives  the  thought  of  the  text  —  that's 
interpretation.  But  if  the  thought  stands 
out  single  and  unmistakable  in  the  very  words 
of  the  text,  then  no  other  words  are  needed. 

And  many  texts  are  put  in  the  best  possible 
form  for  themes.  They  are  such  as  they 
stand. 

"Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto  God?"1 
"  Who  can  forgive  sins  but  one,  even  God  ?  "  a 
"  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  "  3  are  examples 
of  texts  that  make  the  best  themes  as  they 
stand.  They  cannot  be  clearer,  and  change 
of  phrase  would  weaken  their  force. 

Another  question  often  asked  about  the 
theme,  Should  it  be  in  plain  language?  Are 
1  Job  xxii.  2.  2  Mark  ii.  7.  *  John  vi.  68. 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  105 

figures  ruled  out  ?  Here  again  Dr.  Phelps  lays 
down  the  unvarying  law  that  the  theme  should 
be  in  plain,  never  figurative,  language.  I  can- 
not agree  with  him.  It  seems  arbitrary  and 
slavish. 

The  theme  is  the  place  for  clear  thought. 
The  appeal  is  made  to  reason  and  intelligence, 
not  to  emotion.  The  feelings  should  not  be 
aimed  at  until  the  basis  is  laid  in  rational 
thought.  So  the  theme  should  avoid  the 
imaginative  and  emotional  elements  as  the 
rule.  I  once  heard  a  sermon  on  "  The  Gospel 
most  exactly,  wondrously,  divinely  adapted  to 
the  nature  of  men."  The  string  of  adverbs 
with  their  evident  aim  at  the  feelings  was 
decidedly  out  of  place.  But  some  texts  are 
so  imaginative  that  to  translate  them  at  once 
into  plain  prose  destroys  their  life  and  power. 
Is.  xii.  1  is  one  of  them,  "  With  joy  shall  ye 
draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation." 
Alexander  Maclaren's  "Wells  of  Salvation"  is 
better  than  any  attempt  to  reduce  the  figure 
to  a  plain  proposition. 

On  the  whole,  the  statement  of  the  theme 
should  be  plain,  clear,  and  brief;  it  should  con- 
tain the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth.  The  greatest  care  should  be 
taken  in  its  statement  that  the  audience  may 


106  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

at  once  understand  the  theme,  and  also  clearly 
see  the  practical  end  in  view. 

The  theme  may  be  so  stated  as  to  be  not 
only  clear  but  suggestive  and  striking,  carrying 
almost  the  force  of  argument.  Horace  Bush- 
nell  held  that  the  statement  of  the  subject 
might  be  half  the  battle,  and  his  own  themes 
were  certainly  such,  as  in  his  famous  argu- 
ment against  woman  suffrage,  "  Woman  suf- 
frage, the  reform  against  nature."  The  strong 
preachers  are  noted  for  their  striking  themes. 
Any  list  of  modern  sermons  will  be  convincing 
proof  of  the  fact : 

Ps.  cxix.  54,  "  Obligation  a  privilege." 

Rev.  i.  9,  "  The  efficiency  of  the  passive  virtues." 

Matt.  vii.  21,  "  Religion  the  doing  of  God's  will." 

John  i.  4,  "  Light  the  outcome  of  life." 

2  Chron.  xxix.  27,  "  The  joy  of  self-sacrifice." 

The  Plan.  —  It  is  true  that  plan-making  is 
somewhat  out  of  fashion  to-day.  The  tendency 
is  to  ignore  or  disguise  plan.  The  desire  to 
make  the  sermon  a  literary  form,  to  give  it 
singleness  and  life,  accounts  for  the  dislike 
of  the  formal  structure.  A  few  great  names 
perhaps  have  set  the  fashion  ;  one  of  them  in 
spite  of  himself,  for  he  says  :  "  In  the  desire 
to  make  the  sermon  seem  free  and  spontaneous, 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  107 

there  is  a  prevalent  dislike  to  giving  it  its  nec- 
essary formal  structure  and  organism.  The 
statement  of  the  subject,  the  division  into 
heads,  the  recapitulation  at  the  end,  all  the 
scaffolding  and  anatomy  of  the  sermon  is  out 
of  favor,  and  there  are  many  very  good  jests 
about  it.  I  can  only  say  that  I  have  come  to 
fear  it  less  and  less.  The  escape  from  it  must 
be  not  negative  but  positive.  The  true  way  to 
get  rid  of  the  boniness  of  your  sermon  is  not 
by  leaving  out  the  skeleton,  but  by  clothing  it 
with  flesh.  True  liberty  in  writing  comes  by 
law,  and  the  more  thoroughly  the  outlines 
of  your  work  are  laid  out,  the  more  freely  your 
sermon  will  flow,  like  an  unwasted  stream 
between  its  well-built  banks."1 

One  of  our  strong  preachers  has  said  that  if 
he  had  to  teach  young  men  Homiletics,  he 
would  put  them  at  the  making  of  plans.  And 
he  attributes  much  of  his  own  success,  humanly 
speaking,  as  a  preacher  to  his  early  discipline 
in  plan-making. 

The  Need.  —  The  need  of  the  plan  is  seen  in 
the  strength  and  weakness  of  sermons.  Some 
men  begin  to  write  sermons  as  Rousseau  said 
a  love-letter  should  be  written ,  "  Begin  to 
write  without  knowing  what  you  are  going 
1  Brooks,  "Lectures  on  Preaching,"  p.  177. 


108  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

to  say,  and  finish  without  knowing  what  you 
have  written." 

The  sermon  needs  a  plan  as  much  as  a  build- 
ing, a  painting,  or  a  human  body.  It  needs  the 
plan  as  the  expression  of  thought  and  feeling. 
Order  is  a  law  of  the  mind.  Perfection  means 
finishing  according  to  a  pattern.  The  sermon 
is  expression  for  a  holy  purpose.  Its  purpose 
of  instruction  and  persuasion  calls  for  arrange- 
ment. The  best  approach  to  the  mind,  the 
ways  of  arousing  interest,  of  affecting  the  sensi- 
bilities, all  demand  the  wisest  forethought  and 
preparation.  A  sermon  without  form  may  be 
a  void.  A  sermon  formless  and  aimless,  with 
the  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  to  make  up  for 
human  weakness,  is  the  voice  of  cant  and  not 
of  an  honest  and  thoroughgoing  piety. 

Plan-making  is  a  help  to  the  preacher. 

It  quickens  invention.  Truth  stands  re- 
lated to  truth,  and  the  effort  to  set  material 
in  order  calls  forth  suggestion. 

It  leads  to  close  study  and  thought.  The 
plan  reveals  the  suggestiveness  or  poverty 
of  the  thought.  It  gives  a  true  inventory 
of  stock,  and  prompts  the  seeking  of  other 
riches. 

It  helps  to  keep  the  discussion  in  proportion, 
the  points   developed  in   accord  with  the  im- 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  109 

portance  of  truth,  and  the  purpose  of  the 
sermon. 

The  most  common  defect  of  the  sermon  is 
malformation,  truth  in  wrong  proportion.  In 
young  men  it  often  happens,  through  lack 
of  clear  vision  and  wise  arrangement,  that  the 
first  part  of  the  sermon  will  be  overdeveloped; 
while  the  last  part,  where  the  fulness  of  energy 
is  expected,  will  show  a  carelessness  and  weak- 
ening of  thought  and  imperfect  treatment.  It 
is  as  though  the  map  of  the  country  should 
be  drawn  with  New  York  on  a  scale  ten  times 
larger  than  the  other  states. 

A  good  plan  helps  the  style  of  the  sermon. 
The  plan  supposes  theme  and  purpose,  and 
these  give  a  certain  intentness  and  eagerness  to 
speech  that  help  to  make  it  simple  and  direct 
and  persuasive. 

Order  is  especially  needed  in  extemporaneous 
preaching.  It  helps  the  memory  to  retain  and 
reproduce,  without  conscious  effort,  the  steps 
already  thought  out.  The  failure  of  memory 
is  probably  a  failure  in  arrangement. 

Repetition,  wandering,  discursiveness,  the 
weaknesses  of  extemporaneous  speaking,  will  be 
corrected  by  clear  and  orderly  plan.  Earnest- 
ness, conviction  of  truth,  inseparable  from  all 
effective  preaching,  is   vitally  connected  with 


110  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

arrangement.  Profound  conviction  is  the  re- 
sult of  clear  seeing.  How  can  we  see  clearly 
until  the  parts  of  the  subject  are  properly 
arranged  before  the  mind  ?  An  artist  will  say 
that  the  drawing  of  an  object  is  the  help  to  the 
proper  sight  of  it.  Every  line  of  the  pencil  or 
brush  in  the  hand  of  the  artist  is  a  thought  put 
in  its  right  place  —  to  work  toward  the  con- 
ception of  the  whole.  Arrangement  of  the 
sermon  is  simply  putting  each  thought  in  its 
proper  place,  to  produce  a  vivid  conception  of 
the  whole. 

Neglect  of  plan-making  leads  to  loss  of  con- 
structive power.  While  the  mind  loves  order, 
and  demands  it  for  clearness  and  force,  the 
order  will  not  come  of  itself,  but  only  as  the 
result  of  constant  discipline.  The  habit  of 
arranging  is  the  constructive  training  that  the 
mind  constantly  needs.  The  power  once  gained 
will  not  be  preserved  without  exercise.  It  may 
be  weakened  and  finally  lost  by  disuse.  If 
we  feel  strongly,  will  not  feeling  find  its  own 
path  without  previous  planning?  Has  not  pas- 
sion a  natural  order,  and  the  best  order?  Such 
is  the  claim  of  Dr.  Broadus  in  his  plea  for  free- 
dom of  speech.  But  passion  is  connected  with 
perception,  and  this  depends  on  order.  To 
have  a  vivid  perception  of  any  truth  is  to  see  it 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  111 

in  order  —  its  parts  put  together  into  a  whole. 
And  when  feeling,  without  long  thinking  or 
any  apparent  plan,  finds  voice  that  goes  straight 
to  the  hearts  of  men,  it  will  be  found  the  result 
of  this  clear  conviction  and  previous  training. 
The  man  who  reaches  the  freest,  most  impul- 
sive expression  of  truth  will  gain  his  power 
through  the  discipline  of  order. 

The  plan  is  as  important  for  the  hearer  as  for 
the  preacher.  It  makes  the  sermon  intelligible. 
Thoughts  must  be  put  in  order,  and  all  irrele- 
vant matter  rigorously  left  out,  if  truth  is  to  be 
conveyed  to  other  minds.  Without  arrange- 
ment impressions  may  be  conveyed  that  are 
partial  and  even  untrue. 

A  true  plan  makes  the  sermon  attractive. 
The  beauty  of  structure  is  a  proper  element 
to  touch  the  sensibilities  and  act  upon  the  will. 
But  this  beauty  depends  upon  the  thoroughness 
of  analysis  and  then  the  truthful  and  exact 
synthesis  with  which  the  elements  are  put  to- 
gether again. 

And  finally  a  plan  makes  the  sermon  per- 
suasive. The  understanding  must  be  reached 
before  the  will  can  be  moved.  Conviction  pre- 
cedes emotion,  i  Simply  to  instruct  and  argue  is 
not  then  enough;  there  must  be  movement  in 
it.     All  our  thoughts  must  be  successive  blows 


112  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

hitting  the  same  spot  of  the  flinty  heart,  or 
strokes  to  bring  before  the  mind  the  complete- 
ness of  the  picture  and  aiming  at  singleness,  — 
unity  of  impression.  Such  speaking  is  more 
than  mere  continuity.  Thoughts  must  not  only 
not  break  the  thread  of  the  discourse,  but  they 
must  add  to  the  final  impression.  How  can 
this  be  effected  without  the  most  careful  dis- 
position of  our  material  ?  No  man  should  speak 
upon  religious  truth  without  knowing  what  he 
is  to  say  and  how  he  is  to  say  it. 

What  should  be  aimed  at  in  the  plan? 

Simplicity.  —  We  should  not  strive  to  see 
how  many  things  we  can  bring  together  in  one 
sermon;  but  how  clear  and  attractive  and  im- 
pressive we  can  make  a  few  things.  It  is  some- 
times our  duty  to  show  the  splendor  of  truth 
and  the  breadth  of  its  relations  ;  but  in  general 
to  aim  at  singleness  of  impression.  Not  only 
does  singleness  of  impression  demand  simple 
arrangement,  but  the  memory  of  the  truth.  A 
very  simple  plan  developed  with  varied  ma- 
terial will  make  the  most  lasting  impress. 

Mr.  Warner  has  finely  said  that  simplicity  is 
the  element  of  all  immortal  literature  —  and  it 
might  be  added,  the  element  of  lasting  impres- 
sion in  preaching.  And  the  taste  of  the  best 
pulpits   is   ever   striving   after  a  simple  plan. 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  113 

The  growth  in  simplicity  of  plan  is  seen  by- 
comparing  the  sermons  of  Flavel  with  those  of 
the  late  Dr.  R.  D.  Hitchcock.  The  sermon 
taster  in  Dr.  Watson's  story,  with  the  points  of 
the  sermon  remembered  by  the  pans  upon  the 
pantry  shelves,  is  a  gentle  satire  at  the  minute 
and  complex  schemes  of  the  older  sermons. 

Naturalness.  —  We  often  feel  the  mechanical 
and  artificial  plan  of  our  sermons.  The  points 
can  be  truly  made  and  they  are  in  logical  order, 
but  there  is  no  life  in  them.  That  has  been 
killed  by  our  analysis ;  its  beauty  and  fragrance 
gone  with  the  division  of  its  elements.  The  best 
system  holds  the  evil  of  the  mechanical.  Train- 
ing often  leaves  the  impress  of  the  artificial. 

The  cure  of  this  is  to  make  laws  and  models 
only  helps,  not  masters.  We  should  strive  to 
be  independent  and  individual  in  the  setting 
forth  of  truth.  Within  the  general  laws  of 
order,  there  is  room  for  great  diversity,  and 
this  we  should  seek  after,  —  the  form  that  is 
natural  to  us,  and  that  is  best  fitted  to  the  par- 
ticular truth  to  be  expressed.  Let  us  away 
with  all  that  is  perfunctory  and  professional ; 
the  life  of  truth  in  us  should  find  a  living  way 
to  the  hearts  of  others.  The  danger  in  plan- 
making  is  sameness.  Robertson  has  his  two- 
fold divisions  with  their  lessons,  and  Alexander 


114  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

Maclaren  holds  to  his  three  points  as  sacredly 
as  to  the  Trinity.  It  takes  a  strong  life  to 
speak  through  such  monotony  of  structure : 
"  Three  divisions,  three  subdivisions  and  appli- 
cation. Like  houses  in  a  block,  all  alike,  same 
front,  three  floors,  three  rooms  on  a  floor,  and 
an  attic."1 

How  shall  the  plan  be  made  ? 

It  will  come  in  many  ways,  sometimes  sud- 
denly and  fully  shaped  like  an  inspiration,  the 
whole  truth  bodied  forth  in  vision  ;  and  again 
it  will  be  made  only  after  long  study  and  re- 
peated trial.  A  trial  plan  is  often  helpful  as 
a  means  of  study,  but  the  plan  of  the  sermon 
should  be  the  arrangement  of  the  final  thought. 
And  one  is  not  to  be  satisfied  with  anything 
short  of  the  best  plan. 

The  Expression  of  the  Sermon.  —  The  expres- 
sion of  the  message  of  the  sermon  will  be  dis- 
cussed more  fully  under  the  questions  of  style ; 
but  in  this  brief  preview  of  the  forming  of  the 
sermon,  a  word  should  be  said  about  the  ex- 
pression of  the  thought. 

It  should  be  your  own.  The  materials 
should   be   taken  into   the  life   of    your   own 

1  Also  see  Vinet's  "Homiletics,"  p.  76,  on  the  danger  of 
overanalysis. 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  115 

thought  and  feeling  and  expressed  in  your  per- 
sonal way.  Within  the  general  principles  of 
good  style  there  should  be  room  for  the  play 
of  personality.  It  is  easier  to  fall  into  con- 
ventional expression,  or  to  imitate  some  other 
writer,  but  such  a  method  cannot  be  the  ex- 
pression of  yourself.  It  requires  more  concen- 
tration and  training  of  thought,  more  use  of 
the  will  to  put  the  truth  in  your  own  way,  but 
such  is  your  Christian  duty  :  it  is  the  moral 
element  of  style.  A  sermon  that  is  overbur- 
dened with  quotation  is  often  the  sign  of  im- 
mature and  undigested  thought,  or  a  thought- 
less and  indolent  way  of  speech. 

The  aim  should  be  to  make  other  people  see 
and  feel  as  we  do  ;  to  make  our  truth  perfectly 
clear  so  that  the  audience  cannot  fail  to  under- 
stand, and  try  to  make  it  so  impressive  that 
they  shall  feel  the  motives  that  such  truth 
should  give.  If  our  daily  prayer,  as  we  write 
or  speak,  would  be  that  we  might  be  simple 
and  sincere,  we  should  be  saved  from  many 
errors.  George  Meredith  remarks  that  "  we 
see  so  little  because  bent  on  describing  brill- 
iantly." And  Mr.  Huxley,  whose  Lay  Ser- 
mons are  a  fine  example  of  clearness  and 
simplicity,  says,  "I  have  learned  to  spare  no 
labor  on  the  process  of  acquiring  clear  ideas,  — 


116  Preparation  of  the  Sermon 

to  think  nothing  of  writing  a  page  four  or  five 
times  over  if  nothing  less  will  bring  words 
which  express  all  that  I  mean,  and  nothing 
more  than  I  mean  ;  and  to  regard  rhetorical 
verbosity  as  the  deadliest  and  most  degrading 
of  literary  sins." 1 

And  Dean  Church  of  St.  Paul's  emphasizes 
the  same  truth  :  "  The  great  thing  in  writing 
is  to  know  what  you  want  and  mean  to  say, 
and  to  say  it  in  words  that  come  as  near  to 
your  meaning  as  you  can  get  them  to  come. 
That  is  the  old  and  true  rule  of  writing,  be- 
cause it  is  based  on  the  effort  after  reality,  and 
is  the  countercharm  to  laziness  and  negligence, 
and  to  show  and  make-believe.  After  all,  self- 
restraint  and  jealousy  of  what  one's  self- 
indulgence  or  vanity  tempts  us  to  is  the  best 
rule  in  writing,  as  in  eating." 

It  should  be  adapted  to  the  people.  Hence, 
the  sermon  must  be  unselfish  in  style.  It  need 
not  be  vulgar  —  the  purest  speech,  yet  such  as 
the  people  will  gladly  hear. 

Reading  not  only  maketh  a  full  man,  but 
trains  the  power  to  a  varied  style.  There 
ought  to  be  more  freedom  and  variety  and 
adaptability  in   the  man  who  is  familiar  with 

1  Quoted  in  "  Nineteenth  Century  Preachers  and  Preach- 
ing," p.  97. 


Preparation  of  the  Sermon  117 

the  writers  and  speakers  who  have  so  expressed 
their  thought  as  to  live  beyond  their  own  time. 
Whatever  be  your  method  of  preaching,  the 
use  of  the  pen  is  a  quickener  of  thought  and 
a  trainer  of  expression.  You  will  not  preach 
well  unless  you  write  much.  Bishop  Boyd- 
Carpenter  urges  writing  as  a  part  of  prepara- 
tion, whether  you  speak  or  read  your  sermon. 
"  It  is  by  thinking  with  your  pen  that  you  will 
find  your  way  into  the  heart  of  your  subject. 
Write  till  your  mind  is  perfectly  clear,  and  till 
you  certainly  know  your  own  thought  and 
faculty  of  expression." 


LECTUEE  V 

SCRIPTURE  AUTHORITY  IN 
PREACHING 


OUTLINE 

i.  The  use  of  texts. 

Shall  the  sermon  have  a  passage  of  Scripture  to  limit  and 
direct  its  message  ?  Involved  in  the  very  idea  of  preaching  as 
a  message  of  God. 

a  Positive  reasons. 

1.  It  may  give  the  sermon  the  authority  of  revealed  truth. 

2.  It  creates  interest  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
Bible  in  the  pulpit  made  England  the  people  of  one  book. 

3.  It  helps  the  memory  to  retain  the  truths  of  the  sermon. 
Verses  become  rich  with  the  thoughts  of  noble  minds,  a 
storehouse  of  Christian  ages. 

4.  It  limits  the  theme  of  a  sermon;  is  the  best  trainer  of 
speaker  and  hearer. 

5.  It  gives  unity  to  preaching.  The  twofold  unity,  logical 
and  rhetorical. 

6.  It  gives  variety  to  preaching.  No  mind  or  group  of  minds 
can  originate  or  set  in  such  suggestive  or  subtle  combina- 
tions the  truths  of  religion.  The  Bible  can  be  preached. 
These  reasons  imply  the  expository  spirit.  The  two  hope- 
ful tendencies:  the  inductive  method  of  Scripture  study, 
and  regarding  the  Bible  as  a  history  of  divine  principles  to 
be  applied  by  each  age  to  its  own  problems.  Must  the  ser- 
mon always  have  a  text?  "  It  may  be  very  Biblical  with- 
out a  text,  and  with  a  text  not  Biblical  at  all." 

6  General  rules  for  the  choice  of  a  text. 

1.  Genuine.  Scholarship  thorough.  The  words  of  uninspired 
men.  They  may  be  striking  testimony  to  great  truth. 
Mark  ii.  7,  John  vii.  46. 

2.  Complete.  Demanded  by  respect  for  sacred  writers.  Prac- 
tical limitations  of  the  rule,  Claude,  Vinet.  Governed  by 
unity  and  integrity  of  passage,  and  its  suitableness  for 
preaching.    Logical  not  linear  measure. 

3.  Important.  (1)  Exclude  odd  and  eccentric  texts.  (2)  Ex- 
clude personal  texts.    The  choice  of  great  themes. 

4;  Texts  of  striking  and  suggestive  form.     (1)  Truth  in  con- 

'  crete  statement.     (2)   Avoid  obscure  texts.     (3)  Familiar 

texts  not  to  be  avoided.    Need  new  symbolism  and  broader 

relation.     (4)   Short  texts.     (5)  A  double  text.    The  force 

of  antithesis. "'     ■"=    "~~^ 

5.  An  orderly  choice.  System  in  preaching,  symmetry  of 
doctrine  and  life. 

c  The  reasons  for  the  choice  of  a  particular  text. 

Past  work,  present  need,  personal  taste.    "  The  consideration 
of  all  three  makes  preaching  always  strong  and  always  fresh." 
120 


LECTUKE   V 

SCRIPTURE   AUTHORITY   IN 
PREACHING 

The  modern  pulpit  is  the  product  and  ser- 
vant of  Christianity,  the  teacher  of  an  historic 
faith,  the  materials  and  authority  of  which  are 
found  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  The  preacher's  use  of  the  Scrip- 
ture is  then  a  matter  of  first  importance. 

The  Text  of  the  Sermon.  —  Shall  the  sermon 
have  a  passage  of  Scripture  for  a  text?  As 
preaching  involves  the  giving  of  a  message  of 
God,  the  question  of  the  text  must  be  answered 
on  higher  ground  than  long-established  custom. 
How  shall  a  preacher  be  sure  to  have  a  word  of 
God  ?  It  is  the  faith  of  the  Church  that  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  give  the  word  of 
God ;  the  record  of  a  providential  history ; 
the  record  of  holy  men  speaking  the  truths  of 
religion  and  of  the  final  word  incarnate  in 
121 


122       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

Jesus  Christ.  Then  preaching  must  be  the 
unfolding  and  application  of  some  truth  in 
harmony  with  Scripture.  We  can  be  sure 
that  we  are  giving  a  message  of  God  only  as 
our  speech  harmonizes  with  Biblical  truth  and 
breathes  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

Positive  Reasons  for  a  Scripture  Text  in  Preach- 
ing. —  The  proper  use  of  a  text  makes  the  ser- 
mon Biblical  and  gives  to  its  sentiments  the 
authority  of  revealed  truth.  The  corner-stone 
of  Protestant  faith  is  the  authority  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  their  given  domain  of  morals  and 
religion.  We  hold  them  as  the  infallible  rule 
of  faith  and  practice. 

And  the  world  everywhere  needs  not 
guesses  at  truth,  but  the  positive  teaching  of 
a  reverent  and  humble  student  of  the  Scrip- 
tures :  the  "  I  know,  therefore  have  I  spoken " 
of  one  who  has  a  deep  personal  experience  of 
the  living  word.  Men  need  authority,  not  the 
authority  of  dogmatic  assertion  or  priestly  class, 
but  of  the  all-searching  and  satisfying  truth  of 
Christ.  We  are  messengers  of  truth,  ambas- 
sadors of  Christ.  A  Scripture  passage  gives 
the  mental  expectancy  of  a  Divine  message, 
and  honestly  followed  gives  an  authority  to 
the  simplest  speech  not  gained  by  mere  reason 
and  eloquence. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       123 

The  use  of  a  text  creates  interest  in  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures.  It  magnifies  the  Scriptures, 
lodges  the  statements  of  Scripture  in  the  mind, 
and  leads  to  further  study  of  the  Scriptures. 
The  people  who  the  most  regularly  hear  the 
Scriptures  read  and  explained,  taught  from  the 
pulpit,  will  be  found  the  most  diligent  students 
of  the  Bible  in  their  homes.  The  new,  free 
Bible  in  the  pulpit,  not  only  the  source  of  the 
sermon  but  its  material  also,  helped  to  make 
that  noble,  pregnant  period  in  English  history, 
when  England  was  the  people  of  one  book,  so 
read  that  it  colored  the  very  speech  of  every 
day. 

The  text  helps  the  memory  to  retain  the 
truths  of  the  sermon.  The  text  may  be  short 
and  striking,  holding  the  truth  in  a  concrete 
fact  or  personal  experience,  and  so  help  the 
memory  to  keep  ready  for  spiritual  use  the 
thoughts  of  the  sermon  heard  or  read.  Thus 
the  Bible  grows  to  be  a  record  of  personal 
religious  life.  The  steps  of  religious  growth 
are  marked  in  its  pages.  Its  verses  become 
precious  memories  of  spiritual  awakening, 
larger  views  of  truth  and  life,  and  hours  of 
holy  affection  and  aspiration.  Thus  the  Bible 
becomes  the  storehouse  to  the  disciple  against 
the  years  of  famine.     The  truths  from  count- 


124       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

less  pages  and  many  lips  are  stored  here.  And 
as  the  Scripture  is  read,  memory  will  often 
bring  the  sweetest  food  for  spiritual  strength. 
How  the  simple  verses  of  Scripture  are  heavy 
with  the  thoughts  of  noble  minds  —  teachers  of 
the  race !  "  Then  went  in  that  other  disciple  " 
—  the  simple  record  of  a  fact  in  the  life  of  a 
humble  man  is  associated  in  thousands  of  minds 
with  "Unconscious  Influence,"  the  notable 
sermon  of  Horace  Bushnell.  "  One  thing  I 
know  "  will  suggest  the  manly  strength  of  Dr. 
Parkhurst's  sermon  on  "The  Blind  Man's 
Creed."  So  is  memory  used  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  sustain  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
world. 

A  text  limits  the  subject  of  a  sermon.  It  is 
the  message,  and  the  messenger  is  bound  to 
give  it  as  he  received  it,  not  adding  to  or 
taking  from  its  essential  truth.  A  subject 
clearly  defined  and  consistently  carried  to  the 
end,  or  the  materials  of  a  passage  set  in  clear 
order,  is  the  best  logical  training  of  the  mind, 
and  the  training  of  the  hearer  in  clear  and 
logical  thinking.  But  is  not  the  adherence  to 
a  text  the  cramping  of  the  powers  of  speech, 
the  fatal  limiting  of  the  powers  of  the  mind  ? 
On  the  contrary,  every  studious  pulpit  testi- 
fies to  a  larger  freedom  and  richer  variety  than 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching      125 

could  come  from  the  choice  of  any  single 
mind. 

So  the  text  gives  unity  to  preaching.  A 
text  may  have  a  twofold  unity  :  a  logical 
unity  and  a  rhetorical  unity.  A  logical  unity 
is  where  all  the  parts  are  capable  of  being 
brought  into  a  single  proposition.1  A  rhe- 
torical unity  is  one  of  impression  —  the  truth 
or  truths  affecting  the  same  emotion  and  lead- 
ing to  a  single  action.2  It  is  evident  that  such 
unity  is  desirable  in  the  sermon  for  the  sake  of 
clear  thought,  distinct  impression,  and  so  effec- 
tiveness. And  a  text  that  has  a  single  chief 
thought  or  whose  truths  are  so  related  as  to 
make  the  same  impression  will  help  the  unity 
of  the  sermon.  If  the  sermon  is  true  to  the 
text,  it  must  be  marked  by  singleness. 

And  finally,  the  text  promotes  variety  in 
preaching.  Such  a  result  flows  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  Scriptures.  A  book  or  books  with 
such  a  history,  slowly  gathered  through  the 
centuries  by  so  many  different  minds,  — a  world- 
history  of  religious  feelings,  motives,  condi- 
tions, then  finally  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of 
man,  and  the  practical  application  of  its  truths 
to  manifold  conditions,  —  here  truly  is  heavenly 
riches.  No  mind  or  group  of  minds  could 
1  Mark  ii.  7.  2  Matt.  v.  1-8. 


126       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

originate  or  set  in  such  suggestive  and  subtle 
combinatious  the  truths  of  religion. 

The  Bible  is  a  book  that  can  be  preached; 
it  is  true  in  an  equal  sense  of  no  other  book, 
proof  that  it  is  the  Gospel  treasury.  The 
Scripture,  and  here  is  the  chief  utility  of  texts, 
presents  truths  in  a  form  more  salient,  more 
pointed,  more  accidental,  than  that  of  abstract 
presentation  —  truth  in  life  and  character  and 
so  of  infinite  variety. 

You  will  see  at  once  that  these  reasons  for 
the  use  of  a  text  suppose  the  expository  spirit 
in  preaching.  What  saith  the  Scripture  ? 
What  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  ?  We  are  to 
be  anxious  about  nothing  so  much  as  that  we 
preach  only  the  Word  of  God.  The  caring 
less  about  what  men  think  and  more  about  the 
teachings  of  Scripture,  the  desire  to  use  the  ex- 
pository method,  are  hopeful  signs  for  the 
pulpit.  There  has  been  too  much  of  the  de- 
ductive method  —  a  priori  spirit.  First,  men 
had  the  doctrine  or  subject  and  then  went  to 
the  Bible  for  text  and  proof.  And  too  often 
the  desire  affected  the  vision.  The  inductive 
method  is  now  being  emphasized.  Get  the 
facts  and  truths  of  Scripture.  Let  all  the  light 
upon  them  possible  of  language  and  history 
and  literature  and  science.     It  is  the  scientific 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       127 

method  of  study,  and  is  giving  a  diviner  life 
to  the  Bible.  It  should  be  noticed  that  with 
the  expository  method  there  is  another  strong 
tendency  due  to  the  application  of  the  Gospel 
to  social  questions,  and  to  the  enlarged  view 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  as  touching  every 
true  sphere  of  life.  So  the  Scriptures  are 
viewed  not  chiefly  as  a  treasury  of  texts  for 
the  preacher,  but  as  a  history  of  Divine  move- 
ments, the  statement  of  Divine  principles, 
which  each  generation  must  apply  to  its  own 
problems  by  the  aid  of  God's  Spirit. 

A  practical  question  here  arises,  Must  the 
sermon  always  have  a  text  ?  Does  it  fail  to  be 
God's  message  without  a  text  ?  Surely  not. 
Vinet  (p.  96)  says:.  "What  gives  a  Christian 
character  to  a  sermon  is  not  the  use  of  a  text, 
but  the  spirit  of  the  preacher.  It  may  be  very 
Biblical  without  a  text,  and  with  a  text  not 
Biblical  at  all."  The  pulpit  may  need  to  speak 
of  some  special  need  or  duty  of  society  and 
find  it  difficult  to  find  a  single  passage  of 
Scripture  properly  teaching  the  exact  phase  of 
truth.  Then  do  not  hesitate  to  unfold  and 
apply  what  you  hold  to  be  the  law  of  Christ 
without  a  text.  Far  better  to  do  this  than 
to  have  the  only  connection  between  Scripture 
and   sermon  that  of   sound.     In   a   series   on 


128       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

"  Popular  Sins,"  a  sermon  was  preached  against 
"  Smoking  "  from  Paul's  words  to  the  jailer, 
"Do  thyself  no  harm."1  But  in  most  cases 
where  a  specific  Scripture  statement  of  the 
truth  is  not  found,  some  Scripture  can  be  used 
that  implies  it,  or  a  related  truth ;  so  used  as 
a  general  announcement  or  starting  point  of 
the  discourse.  If  this  is  used  frankly,  there  is 
nothing  inconsistent  in  it.  The  text  is  not  a 
pretext ;  the  sermon  is  scriptural. 

In  conclusion,  I  should  use  a  text  for  the 
reason  that  such  a  usage  well  represents  the 
idea  that  we  are  the  ministers  of  the  Word  of 
God.  It  holds  the  fact  before  the  audience, 
and  helps  us  to  realize  it.  But  we  can  give  the 
Word  of  God  without  a  text ;  and  it  is  our 
duty  to  do  so  rather  than  trifle  with  the  Scrip- 
ture. 

G-eneral  Rules  for  the  Choice  of  a  Text.  —  It 
should  be  a  genuine  text  of  Scripture,  not  a 
spurious  or  doubtful  passage. 

Our  scholarship  ought  to  be  good  enough  to 
save  us  from  preaching  on  Acts  ix.  6,  "  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ? "  or  viii.  37, 
"If  thou  believest  with  all  thy  heart,  thou 
mayest.  And  he  answered  and  said,  I  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,"  or  1  John 
1  Acts  xvi,  28, 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching      129 

v.  7,  "  There  are  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,  the  Father  and  the  Word  and  the  Holy 
Ghost;  and  these  three  are  one."  I  should  not 
use  any  verse  or  passage  of  whose  genuineness 
there  may  be  any  serious  doubt.  This,  of 
course,  would  exclude  Mark  xvi.  9-20  and  John 
viii.  1-11,  the  Christlike  story  of  the  Master's 
dealing  with  the  woman  taken  in  adultery. 
Whatever  be  the  loss,  and  no  truth  is  lost,  a 
proper  respect  for  the  Scriptures  will  demand 
the  use  of  an  undisputed  text. 

Closely  allied  with  this  law  is  the  question, 
Shall  we  use  the  sayings  of  uninspired  men  ? 
There  can  be  no  objection  if  they  are  taken 
for  what  they  are  worth.  They  are  a  part  of 
the  Scripture  narrative  and  often  give  striking 
testimony  to  some  great  truth ;  as,  Mark  ii.  7, 
"  Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  ?  "  and  John 
vii.  46,  "  Never  man  so  spake."  • 

The  text  should  be  a  complete  thought  of  -— 
Scripture.  Respect  for  the  sacred  writers 
demands  this,  or  the  inspiration  of  Scripture 
is  only  speculative  theory.  To  cut  up  the 
Scriptures,  like  so  much  merchandise  in  lengths 
to  suit  the  users,  is  treating  it  as  we  should  be 
ashamed  to  treat  any  other  book.  This  law  of 
decent  respect  shuts  out  all  sermons  on  "  A 
Little  While,"  or  "  But,"  or  any  other  eccentric 


130       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

fragment.  However,  there  are  some  practical 
limitations  of  this  law.  Claude  says,  "  The 
text  must  contain  the  complete  idea  of  the 
writer  from  whom  it  is  borrowed  ;  for  it  is  his 
language  which  we  are  to  explain  to  our 
hearers."  Vinet,  commenting  on  this  rule, 
says :  "  I  do  not  adopt  the  rule  of  Claude.  I 
content  myself  with  a  sense  complete  in  itself, 
provided  it  be  conformed  to  the  thoughts  of 
the  sacred  writer.  ...  I  think  we  find  a 
complete  sense  and  consequently  a  text  in  every 
series  of  words  from  which  an  attentive  mind 
can  draw  out  a  proposition,  and  which  is  ade- 
quate in  itself."1 

Neither  of  these  laws  by  itself  is  sufficient. 
Each  properly  limits  the  view  of  the  other. 

Take  the  first,  — the  complete  thought  of  the 
author.  2  Cor.  i.  3-4,2— "The  Divine  Use  of 
Comfort."  Anything  short  of  the  complete  text 
fails  to  give  the  thought  of  Paul.  Yet  we 
know  that  sometimes  in  the  Scripture  many 
thoughts  are  related,  and  in  such  a  writer  as 
the  Apostle  Paul,  abundant  in  matter,  impul- 
sive in  utterance  :  one  thought  closely  joined 
to  another  (by  a  hidden  tie  at  times)  often 
makes  it  impracticable  to  select  the  complete 
sense  of  the  writer   for   the   text.     The   text 

1  Vinet,  pp.  139-141.  2  Phillips  Brooks's  Sermon. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       131 

should  not  be  limited  by  a  purely  accidental  cir- 
cumstance. Matt.  vi.  9,  —  "  Our  Father  which 
art  in  Heaven  "  may  be  a  proper  text,  though 
not  the  limit  of  the  thought  of  the  writer.  Heb. 
xii.  1,  a  proper  text,  though  the  writer's  thought 
includes  verse  2.  In  this  whole  matter  of  the 
limits  of  a  text,  we  must  be  ruled  by  the  unity 
and  integrity  of  the  Scripture  passage,  and  its 
suitableness  for  public  teaching.  We  must  apply 
logical,  not  linear,  measure.  It  is  a  field  for 
sanctified  common  sense. 

The  text  should  be  an  important  thought  of 
Scripture.  This  would  exclude  odd  and  eccentric 
texts,  and  would  greatly  diminish  the  stock  in 
trade  of  the  cheap,  sensational  preacher.  "  Old 
Shoes  and  clouted  upon  their  Feet,"  "  The  Nine 
and  Twenty  Knives,"  "  The  Unturned  Cake," 
and  others  of  like  odd  character  have  been 
chosen  and  forced  to  render  forth  some  lesson 
of  spiritual  truth.  Dean  Swift  preached  the 
annual  sermon  to  the  Associated  Tailors  of 
Dublin  from  the  text,  "A  remnant  shall  be 
saved."  A  New  England  minister  once 
preached  to  the  newly  married  couples  of  his 
congregation  from  Ps.  lxxii.  7,  "And  abun- 
dance of  peace  so  long  as  the  moon  en- 
dureth."  And  this  buffoonery  in  the  garb  of 
Holy  Writ  is  one  of  the  sins  of  the  modern 


132       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

pulpit.  Any  list  of  Sunday  services  in  a  great 
city  will  show  specimens  of  it  —  cheap  rivalries 
of  the  concert  hall  and  the  theatre.  It  receives 
the  sharpest  condemnation  from  thoughtful  lay- 
men. Says  one,  "  Every  trick  of  successful 
advertising  in  other  departments  is  imitated, 
but  in  no  single  case  is  the  imitation  ever  so 
clever  as  the  original."  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Church  Club  of  New  York, 
protested  against  the  modern  tendency  toward 
sensationalism  in  pulpit  advertising.  "  The 
newspapers  are  for  chronicling  the  news,  and 
it  is  the  preacher's  duty,  not  to  talk  of  news, 
but  to  describe  proper  conduct  on  this  life,  and 
to  teach  the  congregation  things  that  shall  be 
for  their  eternal  welfare." 

A  genial  humor  and  even  wit  have  their 
place  in  the  pulpit :  means  of  attraction  and 
impression  if  natural  and  joined  with  deep 
sympathy  and  moral  earnestness.  But  it  is 
certain  that  a  sanctified  taste  will  not  seek  the 
eccentric  and  odd  statements  of  the  Bible  and 
do  violence  to  the  plain  letter  of  their  books. 

The  strong  words  of  Baxter  are  fitting  here  : 
"  Of  all  preaching  in  the  world  that  speaks  not 
stark  lies,  I  hate  that  preaching  which  tendeth 
to  make  the  hearers  laugh,  or  to  move  their 
minds  with  ticklish  levity,  and  affect  them  as 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching      133 

stage-players  used  to  do,  instead  of  affecting 
them  with  a  holy  reverence  of  the  name  of 
God." 1 

It  would  exclude  personal  texts,  all  that 
would  fix  unpleasant  attention,  be  discourteous 
to  the  audience,  or  set  the  preacher  before  the 
message.  Examples,  —  Phil.  iii.  2,  "Beware  of 
dogs,"  on  the  funeral  of  a  child  bitten  by  a 
dog.  Ps.  xii.  1,  "  Help,  Lord  !  for  the  godly 
man  ceaseth,"  after  the  unsuccessful  work  of  an 
evangelist.  1  Sam.  iii.  4,  "  Here  am  I,"  a  first 
sermon  in  a  parish.  Against  the  temptation  to 
choose  texts  of  a  personal  nature  I  would  set  a  few 
simple  principles.  We  are  never  to  be  guilty  of 
a  violent  accommodation  of  texts.  The  true 
theory  of  clerical  influence  is  against  them.  We 
have  power  not  by  the  novelty  of  statements,  but 
by  the  divineness  of  the  doctrine  and  earnestness 
of  life.  It  ignores  the  power  of  modesty. 
Truth  is  effective  as  the  person  is  lost  in  the 
truth.  And  we  have  no  right  in  public  speech 
to  invade  the  privacy  of  domestic  life. 

An  earnest  nature  can  never  be  satisfied  with 
curious  glimpses  of  truth,  mere  side-lights  ;  he 
must  ever  deal  with  the  essential,  central  truths 
and  duties  of  the  Gospel.      So  the   preacher 

1  The  place  of  humor  in  the  pulpit.  See  Phillips  Brooks's 
Lectures,  pp.  55-57. 


134       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

should  ever  make  the  choice  of  great  themes. 
He  needs  their  inspiration,  and  in  the  brief 
hours  of  his  pulpit  work  he  cannot  afford  to 
deal  with  anything  less.  The  great  preachers 
bring  the  loftiest  motives  to  bear  upon  the 
humblest  duties  and  lift  the  smallest  things  of 
life  into  the  sweep  of  great  truths.  "  I  suppose 
that  all  preachers  pass  through  some  fantastic 
period  when  a  strange  text  fascinates  them  ; 
when  they  like  to  find  what  can  be  said  for  an 
hour  on  some  little  topic  on  which  most  men 
could  only  talk  two  minutes  ;  when  they  are 
eager  for  subtlety  more  than  for  force,  and  for 
originality  more  than  truth.  But  as  the 
preacher  grows  more  full  of  the  conception 
of  the  sermon  as  a  message,  he  gets  clear  of 
those  brambles.  He  comes  out  on  to  open 
ground.  His  work  grows  freer  and  bolder  and 
broader.  He  loves  the  simplest  texts,  and  the 
great  truths  which  run  like  rivers  through  all 
life.  God's  sovereignty,  Christ's  Redemption, 
man's  hope  in  the  Spirit,  the  privilege  of  duty, 
the  love  of  man  in  the  Saviour,  make  the 
strong  music  which  his  soul  tries  to  catch." 1 

We   should    seek   texts   that   give   truth   in 
striking   and   suggestive  form.     We   shall   find 

1  Brooks's  Lectures,   pp.    17-18.     See  also  John  Hall, 
"  God's  Word  through  Preaching,"  p.  113. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       135 

truth  in  concrete  statement,  in  individual  life, 
not  in  general  and  abstract  forms.  Good 
examples  are  found  in  Dr.  BushneH's  Is.  xiv. 
5,  "  I  girded  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known 
me."  Every  man's  life  a  plan  of  God  ;  or  the 
other  side  of  the  same  truth  by  Dr.  Parkhurst 
from  Ex.  xxv.  40,  "  Look  that  thou  make  them 
after  the  pattern  that  was  showed  thee  in  the 
Mount." 

This  suggestion  will  lead  us  to  avoid  texts 
that  are  obscure  in  thought.  If  the  language 
only  is  obscure,  they  may  create  interest,  and 
be  used,  provided  that  we  are  able  without  un- 
due time  in  explanation  to  make  the  thought 
clear.  But  if  the  thought  itself  is  obscure,  be- 
yond the  power  of  clear  analysis,  little  good 
can  come  from  their  discussion.  Much  prophecy 
is  of  this  nature,  that  so  often  leads  to  fantastic 
and  profitless  interpretation.  ^/ 

Are  familiar  texts  to  be  avoided  ?  Not  if  they 
are  among  Luther's  "  Little  Bibles,"  the  Gospel 
in  miniature,  and  are  rich  with  the  most  precious 
associations  of  Divine  blessing.  But  such  texts 
make  greater  demand  upon  the  preacher  to  lift 
them  out  of  triteness  and  commonness,  and  give 
them  the  splendor  and  dignity  of  new  symbol- 
ism and  richer  relation  and  application. 

It  is  still  better  to  unfold  the  same  truth  from 


136       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

a  new  passage,  to  show  the  richness  of  Scrip- 
ture and  impress  the  universality  of  its  truths. 
John  iii.  3  is  the  familiar  text  for  the  doctrine 
of  "  The  New  Birth  "  ;  but  Matt.  xx.  12  gives 
the  same  truth  in  a  more  striking  connection. 
For  the  example  of  a  suggestive  way  of  treating 
a  familiar  verse,  see  Dr.  M.  R.  Vincent's  ser- 
mon on  Matt.  xvi.  26,  "  God  and  Bread,"  p.  21. 

Shall  a  long  or  short  text  be  chosen  ?  Of 
course  no  rule  can  be  given  as  to  the  length  of 
a  text.  But  in  general,  it  should  be  as  short 
as  is  compatible  with  completeness.  Short 
texts  are  more  easily  remembered.  They  allow 
of  emphatic  repetition,  clinchers  of  argument. 
And  they  are  more  likely  to  result  in  concise 
and  effective  sermons.  A  vivid  and  energetic 
mind  will  naturally  seek  short  texts  and  the 
sermons  will  be  direct  and  convergent  and 
the  minds  of  the  audience  awake  and  active. 
Even  in  expository  preaching  it  is  generally 
best  to  choose  a  short  text  that  gives  the 
key-note  of  the  passage.1 

Shall  a  double  text  be  used  ?  A  single 
connected  passage  is  more  likely  to  give  unity 
of  treatment,  singleness  and  convergence  of 
impression,  and  so  is  the  natural  method  of 
choice.  We  should  avoid  the  mannerism  of  con- 
1  See  Shedd's  "  Homiletics,"  p.  166. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       137 

stantly  seeking  antithesis,  affected  by  some  who 
use  the  double  text.  However,  the  proper  use 
of  antithesis  adds  light  and  power  to  the  truth. 
The  double  text  may  also  be  used  to  reconcile 
seeming  contradictions  or  to  gain  accumulation 
of  truth  and  authority  from  different  parts  of 
the  Scripture.  Bishop  Huntington  has  a  good 
example  in  his  "The  shame  and  glory  of  the 
Cross,"  Matt,  xxvii.  32,  Gal.  vi.  14.  Dr.  Cuyler 
has  a  favorite  sermon  in  which  the  threefold 
text  marks  the  successive  divisions  :  Gal.  vi.  5, 
"  Each  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden " ; 
Gal.  vi.  2,  "  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens "  ; 
Ps.  lv.  22,  "  Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord." 

An  Orderly  Choice  of  Texts.  —  This  implies 
some  system  in  preaching  :  the  choice  of  such 
truth  and  in  such  order  as  shall  best  win  and  in- 
struct men.  There  is  danger  of  a  narrow  view 
of  personal  need,  and  the  dwelling  upon  certain 
truths  to  the  exclusion  of  others  just  as  vital. 
Some  men  so  project  themselves  in  all  they  say 
as  to  give  an  unworthy  view  of  the  Gospel,  not 
the  simplicity  and  fulness  of  Christ. 

The  pulpit  will  inevitably  scatter  without 
some  plan  of  study  and  subjects.  Many  pulpits 
fail  to  give  the  symmetry  of  truth.  They  do 
not  build  up  a  stable,  thoughtful  Church  be- 
cause there  is   so  little  system   in   their   own 


138       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

study  and  teaching.  The  Church  Year  has 
this  great  advantage,  that  it  fixes  the  mind  of 
preacher  and  people  upon  the  chief  facts  of 
Christ  and  compels  their  orderly  treatment. 
The  free  pulpits  must  be  no  less  thoughtful. 
There  should  be  a  plan  that  will  give  the 
preacher  an  increasing  mastery  of  the  mes- 
sage of  Christ  and  give  a  growing  faith  to  the 
Church.  It  is  well  to  have  frequent  series  of 
sermons  growing  out  of  exegetical  study,  and 
carefully  to  keep  the  balance  of  truth  and  duty. 

Shall  we  regard  all  parts  of  the  Scripture  as 
equally  to  be  used  in  public  instruction  ? 
Such  a  view  ignores  the  fact  that  the  Bible  is  a 
growth,  that  it  contains  a  gradual  unfolding  of 
truth.  Some  parts  of  the  Bible  contain  few 
helpful  passages  for  the  pulpit,  while  others  are 
charged  with  the  great  messages  of  the  Gospel. 
While  we  should  not  ignore  any  part  of  Scrip- 
ture in  our  study,  it  is  not  possible  to  know  all 
parts  equally  well  —  and  the  central  truths  we 
must  not  fail  to  give. 

The  Reasons  for  the  Choice  of  a  Particular  Text. 
—  What  practically  shall  guide  us  in  the  choice  of 
any  particular  text  for  the  pulpit  ?  Three  things 
may  enter  into  the  consideration,  —  past  work, 
present  need,  and  personal  taste. 

Past  work  has  already  been  touched  upon  in 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       139 

the  orderly  choice  of  texts.  A  man's  choice 
should  be  governed  in  some  respect  by  the 
truth  he  has  lately  preached.  Will  this  truth 
add  to  the  impression  of  the  last  sermon,  will 
it  help  to  round  out  the  truth  or  is  some  en- 
tirely different  truth  to  be  taught  for  contrast 
or  relief  ?  These  are  perfectly  proper  tests  that 
every  wise  minister  will  apply.  A  minister  is 
to  study  effects  on  souls  of  truths,  with  that 
same  keen  interest  and  wise  adaptation  as  an 
artist  does  form  and  color,  or  a  doctor  his 
prescriptions. 

Then  the  personal  need  of  his  parish.  Of 
course,  the  preacher  implies  the  pastor.  We  are 
to  study  souls  as  well  as  truths.  We  cannot 
preach  to  men  in  the  lump.  We  are  to  write 
individuals  upon  our  hearts  as  the  watchword 
of  our  ministry.  This  study  and  care  of  in- 
dividuals will  make  us  sensitive  to  their  need 
and  direct  us  to  some  helpful  and  timely  truths. 
However,  we  must  guard  against  taking  the 
need  in  too  narrow  a  sense. 

Then  the  personal  need  and  taste  of  the 
minister  may  direct.  A  Scripture  passage 
that  awakens  no  special  interest  in  us,  no  joy 
of  discovery,  no  passion  for  utterance,  —  how- 
ever important  the  truth  may  be  or  fitted  to 
another  life,  —  for  the  time  being  it  is  not  our 


140       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

message.  We  Deed  to  receive  the  word  of 
God,  have  the  sense  of  direct  and  personal 
message,  before  we  can  speak  the  word  with 
any  power  to  others. 

"  These  three  considerations  then  settle  the 
sermon's  topic.  Evidently  neither  is  sufficient 
by  itself.  The  sermon  preached  only  with  ref- 
erence to  the  people's  needs  is  heavy.  The  ser- 
mon preached  for  symmetry  is  formal.  The 
sermon  preached  with  sole  reference  to  the 
preacher's  wish  is  whimsical.  The  constant 
consideration  of  all  three  makes  preaching  al- 
ways strong  and  always  fresh.  When  all  three 
urgently  unite  to  settle  the  topic  of  some 
special  sermon,  I  do  not  see  why  we  may  not 
prepare  that  sermon  in  a  solemn  exhilaration, 
feeling  sure  that  it  is  God's  will  that  we  should 
preach  upon  that  topic  then  ;  and  when  it  is 
written,  go  forth  with  it  on  Sunday  to  our 
pulpit,  declaring,  almost  with  the  certainty  of 
one  of  the  old  prophets,  '  The  Word  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  me  saying.'  "  1 

1  Brooks,  "Lectures  on  Preaching,"  pp.  153-156. 


LECTURE   VI 

SCRIPTURE  AUTHORITY   IN 
PREACHING—  (Continued) 


OUTLINE 

2.  The  interpretation  of  texts. 

a  Duty  of  true  interpretation.  Every  reason  for  a  text  is  also 
a  reason  for  honest  interpretation.  Further  reason  is  the 
error  and  confusion  from  wrong  interpretation. 

b  Chief  sources  of  error  in  interpretation. 

1.  Failure  to  understand  the  language  of  the  text.  Scrip- 
ture subject  to  the  laws  and  difficulties  of  speech.  "Verbal 
precision,  but  approximate.  Variety  of  style  in  different 
authors  and  periods. 

a  We  must  understand  the  language  of  the  Bible  ;  the 

Hebraistic  and  Hellenistic  coloring  of  thought  ;  the 

capital  words,  etc. 
b  We  must  remember  the  popular  and  poetic  nature  of 

Bible  language, 
c  That  ideas  gather  accretions,  that  each  writer  is  both 

product  and  force,  to  be  understood  in  the  light  of 

his  times. 

2.  Disregard  for  the  context  of  the  passage. 

a  The  context  gives  form  and  color  to  the  text,  posi- 
tiveness  of  meaning,  Acts  x.  15,  Luke  xvii.  5, 
Ps.  cxxvi.  5. 

&  The  context  saves  from  positively  wrong  teaching,  Col. 
ii.  21. 

c  Causes  of  disregard  of  the  context.  Mechanical  theory 
of  inspiration.  Forgetting  that  the  book  is  litera- 
ture as  well  as  a  storehouse  of  proof  texts.  Arbi- 
trary division  into  chapters  and  verses,  disregarding 
the  logical  and  historical  nexus. 

3.  Improper  spiritualizing.  Abundant  basis  for  the  allegor- 
ical in  nature  and  the  Bible.  History  of  allegorical  inter- 
pretation.   Proper  ways,  improper  ways. 

c  The  laws  of  interpretation. 

1.  Seek  to  find  the  exact  and  proper  meaning  of  the  words. 
Verbal  accuracy. 

2.  Study  the  relation  of  text  to  its  setting.  Logical  and  his- 
torical accuracy. 

3.  Interpret  figuratively,  when  reasonable.  Presumptions  in 
favor  of  literal  meaning.  The  only  true  accommodation 
the  resemblance  in  principles. 

4.  Interpret  by  the  teaching  and  spirit  of  Christ.  Theologi- 
cally and  spiritually  accurate. 

5.  Inferential  lessons.  (1)  Do  not  make  the  incidental 
thought  the  theme.  (2)  Avoid  too  strict  and  narrow 
interpretation.  (3)  In  the  desire  to  be  evangelical,  do 
not  read  into  the  text  what  plainly  is  not  there.  "We 
must  not  give  to  Old  Testament  texts  a  degree  of  spiritu- 
ality which  they  cannot  have."  —  Vinet.  The  authority  of 
preaching  in  the  sincerity  and  thoroughness  and  divine- 
ness  of  its  teachings. 

References  : 

Ellicott.    "Homiletic  Lectures,"  interpretation  by 

Perowne. 
Behrends.    "  Philosophy  of  Preaching."    5. 
Austin  Phelps.     "Theory  of  Preaching."    4-9. 

142 


LECTURE   VI 

SCRIPTURE   AUTHORITY   IN 
PRE  ACHING  —  (  Continued) 

The  Interpretation  of  Texts.  —  To  understand 
and  express  the  thought  of  another  not  only 
demands  an  adequate  mental  training,  the 
understanding  of  the  laws  of  language  and 
unwavering  obedience  to  them,  but  the  deeper 
condition  of  spiritual  sympathy,  the  fellowship 
of  life.  It  should  be  the  ambition  of  the 
preacher  to  be  able  to  say  in  some  degree  as 
Paul  did,  "We  have  the  mind  of  Christ." 

The  duty  of  true  Interpretation,  —  Every 
reason  for  a  text  is  also  a  reason  for  honest 
interpretation.  A  passage  from  the  Scripture 
is  no  better  than  any  other  passage  unless  we 
use  it  truthfully.  Rightly  to  divine  the  word 
means  to  reproduce  in  modern  ways  of  thought 
and  speech  the  exact  mind  of  the  writer,  or  to 
teach  the  principle  and  duty  reasonably  sug- 
gested. To  treat  the  text  as  mere  motto,  to 
use  it  allegorically  and  by  accommodation,  to 
spiritualize  it  (in  common  parlance),  is  to  give 
143 


144       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

free  rein  to  human  fancy.  And  in  too  many- 
cases  it  has  been  anything  but  giving  the  mes- 
sage of  God. 

The  cases  of  wrong  interpretation  have  been 
so  many,  the  wrong  habits  are  so  persistent, 
the  babel  of  tongues  has  been  so  confusing, 
the  Christian  Church,  the  body  of  Christ, 
divided  into  so  many  warring  members,  that 
the  duty  of  honest  interpretation  is  laid  upon 
every  man's  conscience  who  would  be  a  teacher 
of  the  Word.  From  the  mistakes  of  the  past, 
we  can  draw  some  practical  lessons  as  to  the 
sources  of  error. 

Chief  sources  of  error  in  Interpretation.  — 
Failure  to  understand  the  language  of  the  text. 

The  language  of  Scripture  demands  the 
same  care  as  the  study  of  any  other  language. 
The  divine  truth  has  been  put  in  human 
speech  and  is  subject  to  the  difficulties  as  well 
as  the  laws  of  speech. 

We  know  that  precision  of  words  is  but  proxi- 
mate. There  is  every  variety  of  style,  as  we 
might  expect  from  so  many  different  periods 
and  authors.  And  the  possibility  of  misconcep- 
tion is  not  unreal.  Every  translation  realizes 
the  difficulty  of  conveying  the  exact  thought 
of  a  foreign  idiom,  the  exact  emphasis  and  pro- 
portion of  thought. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       145 

Then  —  we  must  study  the  original  languages 
of  the  Scriptures  or  get  the  best  results  of  such 
study  in  others.  We  must  understand  the 
Hebraistic  and  Hellenistic  coloring  of  thought. 
The  capital  words  that  mark  certain  books,  that 
run  through  the  New  Testament,  "  world,  flesh, 
mind,  heart,  sin,  faith,"  and  such  like,  must  be 
filled  with  Bible  ideas,  and  be  so  taught  that 
men  will  not  base  on  them  errors  in  doctrine 
and  life. 

We  must  remember  that  Bible  language  is 
often  popular  and  poetic,  and  partakes  of  the 
love  of  symbols,  and  even  at  times  of  the  ori- 
ental tendency  to  hyperbole. 

It  diminishes  Eph.  v.  11  and  augments  Luke 
xiv.  26.  It  uses  the  absolute  for  the  relative, 
Luke  xiv.  12,  and  the  relative  for  the  absolute, 
Luke  xviii.  14.  It  generalizes  or  particularizes, 
is  full  of  synonyms  and  parallels,  and  rarely 
deals  in  scientific  classification.  "Just  what 
atonement  is,  I  cannot  tell  you,  since  the  Bibli- 
cal terminology  is  all  of  it  figurative.  But  this 
I  may  believe,  and  this  I  must  believe,  that  the 
atonement,  in  which  I  cast  the  anchor  of  my 
hope,  is  not  temporal  but  eternal."1 

We  must  remember  that  ideas  may  gather 
accretions,  different  shades  of  meaning,  and  that 
1  Hitchcock,  "Eternal  Atonement,"  p.  26. 


146       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

each  writer  is  both  product  and  force,  to  be 
studied  and  understood  in  the  light  of  his 
times. 

A  second  source  of  error  is  the  disregard  for 
the  context  of  the  passage. 

A  verse  does  not  stand  alone,  but  has  its  place 
in  the  narrative  or  teaching,  and  the  exact  direc- 
tion of  its  teaching  can  rarely  be  understood 
without  its  context.  Like  a  landscape,  it 
must  have  perspective  or  it  is  flat  and  mean- 
ingless. 

The  context  gives  form  and  color  to  the  text, 
positiveness  of  meaning.  Acts  x.  15,  "What 
God  hath  cleansed  make  not  thou  common  "  is 
understood  only  in  the  light  of  Peter's  training 
and  prejudice.  Luke  xvii.  5,  "  Increase  our 
faith,"  gets  new  meaning  from  Christ's  teach- 
ing of  forgiveness.  His  standard  is  so  far 
above  them  that  they  cry  out  for  an  increase  of 
the  very  capacity  of  faith.  Ps.  cxxvi.  5,  "  They 
that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy,"  is  full  of 
meaning  to  one  who  understands  the  agriculture 
of  Palestine. 

The  context  saves  from  positively  wrong 
teaching.  Col.  ii.  21,  "  Handle  not,  nor  taste, 
nor  touch,"  the  stock  text  of  temperance  reform- 
ers, can  by  no  honest  interpretation  be  made  to 
teach  the  duty  of  total  abstinence. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       147 

Why  have  men  so  often  disregarded  the  con- 
text of  Scripture? 

From  the  mistaken  view  of  the  Bible,  consid- 
ering every  word  and  part  equally  divine,  for- 
getting the  fact  that  the  Bible  is  a  true  evolution, 
and  that  there  may  be  degrees  of  authority. 
From  a  mechanical  theory  of  inspiration,  ex- 
alting the  letter  and  not  the  spirit.  From  con- 
sidering the  Bible  as  an  armory  of  proof  texts 
and  storehouse  for  texts  of  sermons  —  and  not 
history  and  poetry  and  biography  and  letters. 
And  so  as  a  result  of  this  partial  view,  the  de- 
termination of  finding  some  word  of  God,  some 
divine  lesson  in  every  fact  and  statement  of 
Scripture.  As  the  natural  sense  did  not  yield 
the  truth,  the  doctrine  of  the  double  meaning 
was  taught,  and  the  habit  of  spiritualizing  began. 
In  modern  times,  the  arbitrary  division  of  the 
Scriptures  into  chapter  and  verses,  with  the 
Genevan  version  the  printing  of  each  verse  as 
a  separate  paragraph,  led  to  a  disregard  of  the 
logical  and  historical  nexus  of  the  passage,  and 
the  undue  use  of  short  texts. 

Another  source  of  error  in  interpretation  has 
been  suggested  in  the  last  division,  viz. : 

Improper  spiritualizing. 

I  say  improper  spiritualizing,  for  both  nature 
and  the  Scripture  give  abundant  basis  for  the 


148       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

allegorical.  Nature  is  rich  in  symbols.  Hugh 
Macmillan's  "  Bible  Teachings  of  Nature  "  and 
Henry  Drummond's  "  Natural  Law  in  the  Spirit- 
ual World  "  make  us  realize  that  nature  shadows 
forth  truths  that  are  spiritual  and  eternal. 

The  history  of  the  Bible  is  illustrative  of  the 
history  of  the  soul.  The  New  Testament  writers 
do  not  hesitate  to  use  its  history,  prophecy,  per- 
sons, as  types  of  Gospel  truths.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment is  full  of  types  and  shadows  of  the  good 
things  to  come.  So  Jesus  himself  speaks  of 
Moses  and  Jonah. 

So  there  is  a  natural  tendency  to  spiritualize 
that  finds  strong  warrant  and  rich  illustration 
in  nature  and  the  Scripture.  We  need  to  see 
truth  embodied,  and  the  craving  of  the  mind 
for  pictures,  object  lessons,  seeks  to  find  such 
symbols  on  every  hand. 

The  historical  beginning  of  improper  spiritu- 
alizing is  easy  to  trace.  Philo  of  Alexandria 
(contemporary  of  Christ)  first  gave  it  impulse 
and  authority.  Origen  in  the  third  century 
made  it  common  in  the  Church.  Most  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  Fathers  are  guilty  of  it.  After 
the  first  impulse  of  the  Protestant  Reformation 
had  somewhat  spent  its  force,  the  rage  for  spir- 
itualizing overcame  the  sturdy  Saxon  good  sense. 
The  Puritans  are  especially   guilty  of   it,  and 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       149 

their  spiritual  descendants  to-day  have  not 
wholly  cleared  themselves  of  the  taint.  Such  a 
noble  career  as  Mr.  Spurgeon's  has  given  a 
seeming  authority  to  it.  The  evangelists,  as 
a  class,  with  much  God-blessed  power,  are  guilty 
of  this  perversion  of  Scripture.  It  has  a  natural 
attraction  for  an  intense  and  fervid  mind  that 
would  make  all  life  and  events,  especially  all  of 
Holy  Scripture,  tributary  to  soul-winning. 

It  may  not  be  possible  always  to  draw  a 
distinct  line  between  the  natural  and  spiritual, 
the  true  and  false,  use  of  the  Scripture.  But 
we  are  safe  to  be  guided  as  far  as  the  Old 
Testament  goes  by  the  usage  of  the  writers 
of  the  New,  and  in  the  New  by  a  sanctified 
common  sense. 

The  history  of  preaching  is  full  of  examples 
of  fanciful  interpretation.  Two  examples  of 
modern  preachers  will  show  easily  the  ten- 
dency to  shade  off  the  natural  interpretation 
into  the  fanciful  in  the  desire  to  find  spiritual 
lessons  in  the  simple  incidents  of  the  Bible. 

The  text  is  Mark  vii.  33-34,  and  Mr.  Spur- 
geon  discusses  from  it  "  The  Plan  of  Salva- 
tion for  Lost  Man,"  with  the  following  plan: 
(1)  "Jesus  took  him  aside."  The  soul  must 
be  led  into  loneliness  that  it  may  feel  its  indi- 
viduality.    (2)   "  He  put  his  fingers  into  his 


150       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

ears."  The  source  of  the  mischief  is  indi- 
cated. Sinners  must  be  convinced  of  their 
state.  (3)  "And  spat."  The  Gospel  is  a 
simple  and  despised  means.  The  sinner  must 
be  humble  to  receive  it.  (4)  "Touched  his 
tongue."  Further  sense  of  mischief  indicated. 
Our  sense  of  need  grows  on  us.  (5)  "  He 
looked  up  to  heaven."  All  strength  must  come 
from  above.  (6)  "  He  sighed."  The  sorrows 
of  the  healer  are  the  means  of  our  healing. 
(7)  "Be  opened."  The  effectual  word  of 
grace. 

Alexander  Maclaren  treats  the  same  text  in 
a  more  consistent  and  suggestive  way.  His 
theme  is  "  The  Pattern  of  Service,"  suggested 
by  the  manner  of  the  miracle.  And  his  plan 
has  four  points,  the  spiritualizing  of  the  four 
significant  steps  in  the  action  :  (1)  The  heaven- 
ward look ;  (2)  the  sigh  of  compassion  ;  (3) 
the  touch  of  pity;  and  (4)  the  word  of  power. 
It  is  not  easy  to  tell  where  one  is  justified  and 
the  other  is  not ;  but  the  latter  is  the  work  of 
a  careful  interpreter,  and  the  other  of  one  who 
is  determined  to  read  into  every  passage  his 
ideas  of  the  doctrines  of  grace. 

The  proper  ways  of  spiritualizing  are  by 
inference,  by  suggestive  principle,  by  illustra- 
tion.     The  wrong    way   is   by   playing    upon 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching      151 

words,  finding  the  resemblance  in  mere  sound 
or  circumstance. 

The  Laws  of  Interpretation. — Seek  to  find 
the  exact  and  proper  meaning  of  the  words. 
Be  verbally  accurate.  The  change  in  the 
translation  of  a  single  word  in  the  Revised 
Version,  Acts  iii.  19,  brings  out  the  great  truth 
that  spiritual  quickening  depends  upon  repent- 
ance. And  the  use  of  a  preposition  in  Heb.  vii. 
16  suggested  to  Horace  Bushnell  his  notable 
sermon  on  "The  Power  of  an  Endless  Life." 

We  are  called  to  be  students  of  the  Word. 
We  must  work  our  way  at  whatever  personal 
cost  into  the  soul  of  the  writings.  Shall  we 
not  have  the  spirit  of  thoroughness  that  pushes 
every  word  to  its  root,  and  relations  and  atmos- 
phere compelling  it  to  yield  its  utmost  sugges- 
tiveness  ? 

Study  the  relation  of  the  text  to  its  setting. 
Interpret  logically,  in  view  of  the  connection 
of  thought,  the  immediate  connection  in  con- 
text, or  the  more  remote  one  in  the  general 
meaning  and  spirit  of  a  book.  John  vi.  68  is 
to  be  understood  from  Peter's  previous  expe- 
rience with  Jesus.  Rom.  xii.  1  is  interpreted 
by  the  argument  of  the  Epistle. 

Interpret  historically,  in  view  of  the  geog- 
raphy, customs,  persons,  systems,  touched    by 


152       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

the  passage.  Col.  ii.  9  can  be  only  understood 
by  the  beginning  of  the  gnostic  heresy. 

Interpret  figuratively,  when  reasonable.  The 
reason  must  be  more  than  a  fanciful  resem- 
blance. The  only  true  accommodation  is 
a  resemblance  in  principles.  But  we  must 
remember  that  the  presumption  is  in  favor 
of  the  literal  sense,  unless  the  language  is 
known  to  be  figurative.  And,  furthermore,  that 
we  are  not  to  base  doctrine  on  unfulfilled 
prophecy. 

Interpret  truth  by  the  light  of  the  teaching 
and  spirit  of  Christ.  It  should  be  theologically 
and  spiritually  accurate.  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  every  passage  should  be  made  to  teach 
what  we  may  hold  to  be  a  system  of  truth. 
We  should  not  be  so  anxious  for  a  system  as 
to  let  every  fact  and  teaching  of  the  Scriptures 
speak  for  itself.  But  any  interpretation  that 
seems  to  contradict  the  simple  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  probably  a  wrong  interpretation, 
and  any  teaching  of  ours  will  be  unscriptural 
and  so  fail,  however  true  in  theory,  if  it  does 
not  breathe  the  very  spirit  of  our  Lord. 

Certain  inferential  lessons  of  interpretation 
may  be  grouped  together. 

The  incidental  should  never  be  made  the 
chief  thought  or  theme,    Mark  viii.  1-9,  "  Duty 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       153 

of  relying  on  one's  self,"  Matt.  ix.  1-8,  "The 
behavior  of  Christians  in  view  of  public  confi- 
dence," are  evidently  not  the  chief  meaning  of 
the  passages. 

It  is  possible  to  be  too  strict  and  narrow  in 
interpretation.  We  may  carry  the  principle  of 
the  text  into  other  applications.  Gal.  vi.  7, 
"The  law  of  the  harvest,"  is  properly  carried 
into  the  spiritual  realm.  And  we  advance  from 
the  precise  point  of  the  text  to  related  truths. 
Is.  Ix.  22  and  Amos  iv.  12  are  universal  prin- 
ciples truly  derived  from  historical  facts. 

In  figurative  passages,  we  must  not  press  the 
figure  beyond  the  lesson  intended.  It  is  a 
common  error  in  dealing  with  the  parables. 
Matt.  xiii.  33,  "The  leaven,"  has  been  inter- 
preted as  evil  to  fit  a  theory  of  Christ's 
second  coming.  Some  illustrations  run  parallel 
with  the  truth,  while  others  touch  at  a  single 
point.  Unexpectedness  is  the  single  likeness  in 
Christ's  coming  as  a  thief. 

We  must  not  read  into  a  text  what  is  plainly 
not  there,  in  the  desire  to  be  evangelical.  We 
must  deal  with  the  Scripture  in  as  broad  and 
trustful  a  spirit  as  the  Scripture  itself.  We 
must  trust  to  the  whole  of  our  teaching  for  the 
balance  and  symmetry  of  impression  and  not 
upon  a  single  sermon. 


154       Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching 

Treat  each  passage  as  it  is;  do  not  try  to 
read  into  it  some  doctrine  of  grace  that  is  not 
there.  Matt.  xx.  29-34  is  not  a  model  of 
Christian  faith;  Luke  xix.  37-38  is  not  the 
whole  of  the  Christian  system.  "  We  must  not 
give  to  Old  Testament  texts  a  degree  of  spirit- 
uality which  they  have  not,  and  which  they  can- 
not have."1 

If  our  preaching  is  to  give  the  real  message 
of  God,  it  must  be  essentially  truthful  in  its 
interpretation  of  each  passage  of  Scripture 
chosen.  Away  with  all  con  jury  of  words,  all 
jugglery  with  the  Bible !  Let  us  not  tolerate 
in  ourselves  a  lazy  or  unscholarly  use  of  what 
is  false  to  the  present  knowledge  of  the  text. 
Ethical  integrity  demands  accuracy  of  knowl- 
edge and  honesty  of  interpretation.  A  fraud 
is  no  better  because  named  pious.  An  untruth 
is  no  less  an  untruth  because  it  suggests  beauti- 
ful sentiment  and  a  religious  lesson.  The  au- 
thority of  the  pulpit  is  not  in  its  claim  but  in 
its  truthfulness.  Men  must  learn  to  trust  us 
for  the  accuracy  of  our  spiritual  insight  and 
the  sincerity  and  sobriety  of  our  judgments. 
For  the  truth  derived  from  the  Scripture,  the 
processes  of  reasoning,  the  lessons  applied,  the 
entire  intellectual  product,  must  be  rational  and 
1  Vinet. 


Scripture  Authority  in  Preaching       155 

moral,  commending  us  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God.  The  pettifogging 
spirit,  the  vice  of  the  special  pleader,  have  no 
business  in  the  pulpit. 

Every  minister  who  honors  the  Word  and 
respects  his  calling  has  a  work  to  do  in  saving 
the  pulpit  from  the  odium  of  lawless  fancy. 
"  Oh  !  you  can  make  anything  of  the  Bible  !  " 
should  not  lie  against  the  plainness  of  the 
Word  and  the  sincerity  of  its  teachers.  We 
must  help  to  relegate  to  the  past  the  idea  that 
for  any  error  — 

"  Some  sober  brow  will  bless  it, 
And  approve  it  with  a  text." 

Then  men  shall  respect  the  pulpit  for  its 
fairness  and  thoroughness  and  the  divineness 
of  its  doctrine.  The  unfoldings  of  the  Word 
shall  be  more  trustworthy  than  the  unfoldings 
of  nature,  and  the  God  of  the  Bible  shall  be 
the  living  God  who  speaks  by  His  servants  to 
the  heart  of  man  as  really  as  through  Isaiah  or 
Jeremiah  to  the  heart  of  Israel. 


LECTURE  VII 

THE  INTRODUCTION 


OUTLINE 

Not  always  needed.  The  theme  may  be  the  first  sentence. 
Generally  demanded  by  preacher,  truth,  and  audience.  "The 
first  five  minutes  of  the  battle  are  the  decisive  ones." 

1.  The  object. 

a  To  prepare  the  mind  to  understand  the  truth. 
b  To  gain  attention  and  interest. 

c   To  secure  good-will.    The  first  words  may  open  or 
shut  the  heart.    The  wisdom  and  sympathy  of  Paul. 

2.  The  important  qualities. 
a  As  to  thought. 

1.  Vital  relation  to  the  theme.    Etymology  of  the  word. 

Directness  and  brevity.    The  folly  of  apologies. 

2.  Particular,  not  commutable. 

3.  Unity.    Not  distinct  or  independent  lines  of  thought. 

4.  Suggestive.    Original  philosophic  remark,  dynamic 

elements  of  a  scene,  striking  points  of  a  narrative. 
Interesting,  yet  dealing  with  accepted  truths,  carry- 
ing reason  and  conscience  to  the  theme. 

5.  Harmony  with   the   theme.     Characteristic  of   the 

thought  of  the  sermon. 
b  As  to  style. 

1.  Simple  and  quiet;  conversational,  not  too  finished. 

The  question  of  illustration. 

2.  Modest.    Free  from  all  affectation  of  excellence  or 

humility.  "  Any  expression  of  egotism  or  of  con- 
scious authority  at  the  beginning  of  the  sermon  is 
offensive  to  true  manhood." 

3.  The  varieties  of  introduction.  The  material  found  in  text 
and  context,  the  subject  and  occasion,  and  hence  a  great 
variety  of  approach. 

a  Explanation. 

b  Narration  or  description. 

c  Drift  of  thought  that  led  to  the  special  declaration  of 

the  text. 
d  Particular  thought  of  the  context  that  leads  to  the 

theme, 
e   Person  speaking  or  persons  addressed. 
/  Comparison  of  Scripture  with  Scripture. 
g  Summary  of  the  truths  involved. 
h  Analogy  or  illustration  of  the  truth. 
i   Reference  to  season  or  occasion. 
The  introduction,  to  be  simple  and  natural,  ought  to  be  writ- 
ten first. 
References  : 

Phelps.    "Theory  of  Preaching."    16-19. 
Broadus.     "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."   pp.  241-247. 
Pattison.    "The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    10. 

158 


LECTURE   VII 

THE  INTRODUCTION 

The  first  words  are  important  words  and 
often  the  hardest  to  speak.  John  Bright, 
though  the  prince  of  extemporaneous  speakers, 
so  felt  the  importance  of  the  first  impression 
that  he  usually  wrote  the  introduction.  Every 
strong  preacher  is  noted  for  his  good  introduc- 
tions, and  every  beginner  is  more  apt  to  fail 
here  than  anywhere  else. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  every  sermon  should 
have  an  introduction.  The  theme  itself  may 
sometimes  be  the  first  sentence.  The  nature  of 
the  subject,  its  evident  connection  with  the  text 
at  once  demanding  attention,  the  occasion,  the 
condition  of  men's  minds,  eager  and  alert,  the 
connection  of  previous  sermons,  may  all  demand 
the  omission  of  formal  introduction.  It  should 
not  be  used  without  good  reason.  "  Young 
men,"  said  Edward  North,  a  famous  professor, 
to  a  class  of  freshmen,  "let  your  first  sen- 
tence be  upon  the  subject,  and  your  last,  and 
every  sentence  between." 
159 


160  The  Introduction 

Some  introduction,  however  short,  is  gener- 
ally demanded  by  the  preacher,  by  the  truth, 
and  by  the  audience.  A  gradual  approach  is 
natural,  it  is  customary  in  all  kinds  of  address, 
and  the  truth  is  served  by  it. 

The  Object.  —  The  introduction  may  prepare 
the  mind  for  the  understanding  of  the  truth. 
In  the  setting  of  the  text  or  in  its  words  there 
may  be  difficulties  to  be  explained,  obscurities 
and  misconceptions  to  be  removed.  Until 
explanation  clears  the  path  to  the  truth,  there 
can  be  no  common  ground  for  preacher  and 
hearer. 

The  introduction  may  win  the  attention  and 
interest  of  the  audience.  Minds  indifferent  or 
opposed  to  the  truth  are  to  be  attracted.  Minds 
absorbed,  prepossessed  with  other  things,  are 
to  be  quickened.  It  is  important  for  the 
preacher  that  the  audience  should  be  ready 
and  attentive  when  the  truth  of  the  sermon  is 
stated.  A  bright  illustration,  a  suggestive 
remark,  a  striking  principle,  will  help  to  awaken 
the  minds  of  men. 

The  introduction  may  secure  the  good-will 
of  the  audience.  The  first  words  are  powerful 
in  removing  or  creating  prejudice,  in  opening 
or  shutting  the  heart.     We  are  not  always  sure 


The  Introduction  161 

of  the  personal  sympathy  of  men  —  either  sym- 
pathy with  us    or  with  the  message  we  give.' 

All  audiences  are  moved  by  the  personal 
influence  of  the  speaker,  by  his  method,  spirit, 
personality.  Therefore  a  wise  preacher  will 
avoid  at  first  whatever  is  blunt  and  repellent. 
He  will  be  considerate  and  winning ;  with  the 
wisdom  of  the  Apostle  Paul  he  will  search  for 
some  common  ground  of  belief  or  interest  with 
his  hearers,  so  that  at  the  beginning  he  may 
win  their  sympathetic  attention.  "A  great 
analyst  of  the  art  of  public  speech  as  it  was 
brought  to  perfection  in  Greece  (Aristotle) 
said  that  a  speaker  must  convince  his  hearers 
at  the  very  outset :  first,  that  he  has  their  in- 
terests at  heart,  next,  that  he  is  competent  to 
interpret  these  interests,  and  thirdly,  that  he  is 
free  from  the  taint  of  self-seeking."1  To  gain 
the  good-will  of  men,  the  preacher  must  have 
deep  respect  for  their  intelligence,  and  pro- 
found faith  in  their  spiritual  nature  and  desire. 
He  will  speak  as  a  man  to  men,  as  one  who 
knows  them  and  believes  in  them  and  sympa- 
thizes with  them.  He  will  put  the  truth  for- 
ward and  keep  self  out  of  sight.  As  a  young 
man,  he  will  rarely  begin  with  a  personal  expe- 
rience or  whatever  calls  attention  to  himself. 

1  "  The  Puritan  Pulpit,"  by  Dr.  John  Brown,  p.  173. 


162  The  Introduction 

He  must  make  the  impression  of  an  earnest, 
reverent  nature,  bent  solely  on  the  message  of 
the  hour. 

The  Important  Qualities.  —  Such  being  the 
uses  of  an  introduction,  what  kind  of  an  intro- 
duction should  we  strive  to  have  ?  What  quali- 
ties should  mark  it  ? 

As  to  thought. 

It  should  have  vital  relation  to  the  theme. 
The  very  etymology  of  the  word,  leading 
into,  suggests  this  quality.  Vital  relation 
means  directness.  It  will  not  begin  too  far 
back  and  it  will  not  dwell  on  truths  casually 
related,  or  go  aside  into  chance  digressions, 
however  interesting,  but  move  to  the  theme 
with  the  directness  of  earnest  purpose. 

"  But  why  such  long  prolusion  and  display, 
Such  turning  and  adjustment  of  the  harp ; 
And  taking  it  upon  your  breast  at  length, 
Only  to  speak  dry  words  across  its  strings." 

—  Browning. 

The  sermons  of  F.  W.  Robertson  are  all 
marked  by  the  vital  relation  of  the  introduc- 
tion to  theme,  notably  the  sermon  from  John 
vii.  17,  "Obedience,  the  organ  of  spiritual 
knowledge." 

From  vital  relation  it  follows  that  the  intro- 
duction should  be  particular,  not  commutable, 


The  Introduction  163 

fitting  the  particular  text  and  not  others.  "  It 
ought  to  do  this  so  perfectly  that  no  other 
introduction  will  be  thought  of  that  would  do 
it  as  well.  If  such  be  its  character,  it  will  seem 
to  be  necessary  to  the  discourse."  If  the 
introduction  will  fit  another  subject  equally 
well,  it  is  not  in  the  best  sense  introductory. 
No  two  should  be  alike.  There  are  some  gen- 
eral introductions  that  may  fit  sermons  of  a 
class,  as  those  on  the  miracles  or  the  parables  ; 
but  they  are  to  be  rarely  used,  and  a  sugges- 
tive mind  will  find  something  in  the  text  or  its 
setting  to  make  the  introduction  individual. 

The  introduction  should  have  a  unity.  There 
should  be  a  central  thought  to  which  all  others 
contribute,  or  a  single  line  of  thought  leading 
directly  to  the  theme.  Two  distinct  and  in- 
dependent thoughts,  each  of  which  might  lead 
to  the  subject,  make  a  double  introduction,  dis- 
tracting the  mind  and  unfitting  it  to  accept 
and  follow  the  theme.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  there  are  two  kinds  of  unity  here,  —  logical 
and  rhetorical.  The  logical  demands  a  single 
line  of  thought,  the  common  form  of  introduc- 
tion ;  the  rhetorical  may  have  several  lines, 
all  preparing  the  way,  leading  to  the  same  im- 
pression, gathering  into  one  path  to  the  theme. 
In   Dr.    Parkhurst's   sermon   on    "The   Blind 


164  The  Introduction 

Man's  Creed,"1  there  are  three  distinct  ele- 
ments: John's  interest  in  the  blind  man  seen  in 
the  full  account,  the  peculiar  relation  of  the 
blind  man  to  Christ's  plan,  and  the  blind  man 
as  the  first  confessor.  And  these  apparently 
different  introductions  have  a  rhetorical  unity, 
together  answering  the  question,  What  is  there 
of  special  interest  in  this  case  ? 

The  introduction  should  be  suggestive.  It 
will  avoid  generalities  and  abstractions  and 
commonplaces.  It  will  unfold  some  new  or 
deeper  meaning  of  a  word,  state  some  signifi- 
cant principle  or  observation,  give  the  distinc- 
tive points  of  a  scene  or  the  striking  elements 
of  a  narrative.  It  should  be  attractive  and 
quickening,  and  yet  on  the  whole  touching 
familiar  things,  or  dealing  with  accepted  truths, 
so  making  no  demand  for  extended  argument, 
and  carrying  reason  and  conscience  inevitably 
to  the  theme.  In  this  respect  familiar  texts 
make  a  greater  demand,  calling  for  freshness 
and  inventiveness.  In  Dr.  M.  R.  Vincent's 
sermons,  "  God  and  Bread  "  (p.  21),  is  a  good 
example  of  a  common  text  and  theme  given 
new  life  by  a  suggestive  introduction. 

The  introduction  should  be  in  harmony  with 
the  theme.  A  sermon  that  has  instruction 
1  John  ix.  25. 


The  Introduction  165 

for  its  purpose,  the  calm  appeal  to  reason, 
would  not  be  helped  by  an  introduction  full 
of  pictorial  qualities ;  while  a  sermon  abound- 
ing in  imaginative  feeling  is  not  naturally 
introduced  by  logical  processes.  There  must 
be  a  fitness  in  the  thought  of  the  introduction, 
characteristic  of  the  thought  of  the  sermon.  It 
will  not  anticipate  or  suggest  the  sermon,  and 
it  will  cover  everything  that  needs  introduc- 
tory remark. 

As  to  style. 

The  style  of  the  introduction  should  be  simple. 
It  should  not  be  too  studied  and  finished.  The 
words  and  order  should  be  so  simple  and  natu- 
ral as  at  once  to  reach  the  mind  and  heart, 
conveying  intelligence  and  sympathy.  The 
audience  are  cool  and  critical  at  first,  and  would 
be  easily  repelled  by  faults  that  might  be  over- 
looked in  the  later  warmth  of  the  sermon. 

At  first  the  audience  are  not  ready  to  respond 
to  passionate  address,  and  so  the  style  of  the 
introduction  is  properly  quiet  and  conversa- 
tional. All  forms  of  exclamation  and  personi- 
fication, all  that  makes  strong  appeal  to  feeling, 
is  here  out  of  place.  It  should  be  bright  and 
warm,  but  free  from  the  marks  of  special  emo- 
tion or  grandeur.  Dr.  Phelps  forbids  all  illus- 
tration in  the  introduction,  but  the  rule  is  too 


166  The  Introduction 

severe.  A  writer  in  the  Homiletic  Review1 
names  a  list  of  texts  for  which  a  full  illustration 
is  the  most  natural  and  effective  beginning,  — 
"  The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm 
tree  "  :  2  "  After  a  picture  has  been  presented 
which  may  serve  in  some  degree  as  a  substitute 
for  real  acquaintance,  then  and  not  till  then 
can  the  speaker  begin  to  show  that  a  devout 
soul  in  an  evil  generation  does  really  resemble 
the  palm  tree." 

Not  only  do  some  truths  demand  illustration 
as  the  best  opening,  there  are  audiences  that 
can  be  awakened  and  won  in  no  other  way. 
But  such  a  beginning  creates  great  expecta- 
tions and  consequently  makes  greater  demands 
upon  the  preacher.  An  example  of  a  quiet 
and  simple  introduction  for  a  great  and  impres- 
sive theme  is  found  in  Dr.  Bushnell's  sermon 
on  "  Dignity  of  Human  Nature  shown  from  its 
Ruins."3 

It  should  be  modest.  It  should  be  marked 
by  large  faith  in  men,  simple  address  to  the 
moral  nature,  but  without  thought  as  to  the 
person  of  the  speaker,  his  authority,  experience, 
and  opinions.  There  is  an  impersonal  quality 
in  all  the  greatest  truth  and  art.  We  are  to 
remember  that  our  own  life  is  never  so  vocal, 
i  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  122.    2  Ps.  xcii.  12.     8  Rom.  iii.  13-18. 


The  Introduction  167 

never  so  effective,  as  when  we  lose  sight  of  self 
in  giving  the  truth.  So  our  first  words  will  be 
free  from  all  affectation  of  excellence  or  hu- 
mility. "  Any  expression  of  egotism  or  of  con- 
scious authority  at  the  beginning  of  the  sermon 
is  offensive  to  true  manhood." 

It  would  be  well  also  for  the  preacher  never 
to  apologize  for  lack  of  preparation  or  physical 
condition.  It  has  often  been  the  trick  of  great 
speakers  to  lower  the  expectation  of  their  audi- 
ence and  so  heighten  the  effect  of  their  address. 
But  it  is  unworthy  of  the  Christian  pulpit. 
Whatever  his  condition,  let  the  preacher  do  the 
best  he  can,  without  excuse. 

The  Varieties  of  Introduction.  — The  material 
for  the  introduction  is  found  in  the  text  and 
the  context,  the  subject  and  the  occasion,  and 
so  furnishes  a  great  variety  of  approach  to  the 
theme. 

It  is  not  wise  to  make  a  detailed  list  of  intro- 
ductions and  spend  time  on  their  distinctions. 
The  following  examples  will  show  the  variety 
and  individuality  of  the  strong  preachers  in 
their  opening  words. 

Examples.  —  Explanation  of  words.  Bush- 
nell,  "  Sermon  for  the  New  Life,"  p.  304. 

Narration  or  description.  Parkhurst,  u  Blind 
Man's  Creed,"  p.  1. 


168  The  Introduction 

Drift  of  thought  leading  to  the  special  state- 
ment of  the  text.  Alexander  Maclaren, 
"Secret  of   Power,"  p.  155. 

Thought  of  the  immediate  context  that  de- 
termines the  theme. 

Person  speaking  or  persons  addressed.  Park- 
hurst,  "  Blind  Man's  Creed,"  p.  96. 

The  comparison  of  Scripture  with  Scripture. 

Summary  of  truths  involved.  Parkhurst, 
"Blind  Man's  Creed,"  p.  15. 

Analogies  of  the  truth.  Vincent,  "  God  and 
Bread,"  p.  153. 

Reference  to  season  or  occasion.  Phillips 
Brooks,  Vol.  I,  p.  157. 

Practical  Suggestions.  —  The  context  may 
naturally  furnish  the  introduction,  but  nothing 
is  more  monotonous  in  preaching  than  the  un- 
varying use  of  the  context.  One  should  never 
use  any  form  of  introduction  unless  it  is  the 
best  for  the  particular  sermon.  Study  the 
natural  approaches  to  the  mind,  the  genius  of 
each  text  and  the  best  way  to  it,  and  be  so  alive 
as  to  feel  the  atmosphere  both  of  the  truth  and 
the  men  to  whom  you  speak.  Make  the  intro- 
duction original  but  not  eccentric,  bright  and 
timely  but  not  sensational.  Above  all,  begin  on 
the  level  of  your  audience  :  find  some  common 
ground  of  belief,  experience,  feeling.     There  is 


The  Introduction  169 

no  place  where  invention  can  be  used  to  better 
advantage  than  here. 

When  should  the  introduction  be  prepared? 
It  is  claimed  by  some  that  the  introduction 
should  be  the  final  work,  as  the  best  approach 
can  only  be  known  when  the  sermon  is  finished. 
But  such  a  statement  implies  a  lack  of  prevision 
and  careful  plan.  If  the  sermon  is  a  full  vision 
before  it  is  written  or  spoken,  then  it  would 
seem  to  be  more  simple  and  natural  for  the  in- 
troduction to  come  first  in  time  as  well  as  place. 
It  may  need  to  be  corrected  and  even  rewritten, 
but  in  its  essential  form  it  will  come  first  in  the 
mind.  However,  this  is  not  a  matter  for  rule 
but  for  individual  judgment  and  common  sense. 


LECTURE   VIII 

THE   DEVELOPMENT 

Development  comprises  all  the  methods  of  discussion:  the 
choice  and  arrangement  of  the  materials  hy  which  the  theme  is 
unfolded. 

1.  The  twofold  problem :  analysis  and  synthesis. 

a  "We  divide  to  show  the  elements  of  truth,  to  distin- 
guish the  vital  from  the  accidental.  Analysis 
chiefly  for  instruction. 

6  "We  combine,  repeat,  show  in  different  light,  apply  in 
many  spheres  for  persuasion.  The  older  divines 
analyzed ;  the  present  tendency  is  synthesis.  Spur- 
geon  and  Phillips  Brooks  examples  of  the  two 
methods.  A  tendency  toward  freedom,  variety, 
individuality,  living  expression  is  good;  but  syn- 
thesis must  follow  analysis. 

2.  The  topical  and  textual  methods. 

"  a  Topical:  definition,  advantages,  and  difficulties, 
o  Textual:    proportion  in  treatment,   special  need   of 
exposition. 

3.  The  general  principle  of  development.  Adaptation. 
Theme,  audience,  and  preacher  to  be  considered.  Largely 
a  question  of  utility.  One  strong  argument  better  than 
many  weak  ones.  A  fertile  thought  should  be  enlarged. 
"Amplify  rather  than  multiply." 

4.  The  kinds  of  division.  Divisions  may  be  made  by  propo- 
sitions, explanations,  observations,  examples.  Each  one 
of  these  may  be  according  to  the  parts  of  the  theme  or 
text. 

5.  The  special  laws  of  division. 

a  As  to  substance. 

171 


1.  Each  should  have  a  vital  force.     Each  point  con- 

nected with  the  theme  and  a  genuine  unfolding  of 
it.    Not  a  secondary  or  accidental  thought. 

2.  Each  should  have  a  distinct  character.    Not  a  mere 

modification  of  another  point.    Each  a  distinct  ad- 
vance.   These  two  laws  would  save  the  pulpit  from 
needless  division  and  inferior  argument. 
b  As  to  style:  the  points  in  words,  clear,  concise,  hrief. 
No  matter  of  explanation  and  development  in  their 
wording.    Similarity  of  form  often  helpful. 
c   As  to  order:  no  best  or  necessary  order.     No  sudden 
break  in  the  order  of  natural  suggestion  and  growth. 
Different  ways.    Order  of  logical  necessity,  value  of 
ideas,  time,  abstract  to  concrete,  personal  interest. 
Hoppin's  "Homiletics,"  p.  394. 

6.  The  transitions. 

a  The  perfect  transition  is  one  of  thought,  not  phrase. 
b  Suggestions. 

1.  The  thought  relation  vital :  a  ligament,  not  a  clasp. 

2.  Interesting,  yet  subordinate  to  the  division. 

3.  In  words  and  phrases  avoid  formality. 

7.  The  announcement  of  divisions.  Preannounced  ?  When- 
ever it  will  help  the  preacher  or  audience.  The  danger  is 
the  loss  of  anticipation.  Recapitulation  is  often  more  in- 
telligible and  impressive.  Avoid  too  formal  announce- 
ment.   Make  them  doors,  not  dams. 

8.  Effective  -qualities  in  development.  Life  always  preferred 
to  mere  perfection  of  form.  But  there  are  structural  chan- 
nels of  life. 

a  Unity.     Singleness  of  idea.     Avoid  needless  explana- 
tion, quotation,  illustration,  digression.     But  do  not 
fear  repetitions  of  the  same  idea  in  new  forms  and 
spheres. 
6  Order.    The  secret  of  power  often  lies  in  arrangement, 
c   Movement.    The  life  of  the  sermon,  the  genius  of  cli- 
max.   Involves  continuity  and  progress.    Suggestions 
of  Archbishop  Magee. 
References: 

Phelps.    "Theory  of  Preaching."    26-29. 
Broadus.    "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."   pp.  260-277. 
Ellicott.    "  Homiletic  Lectures."    1. 
Pattison.    "  The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    11. 

172 


LECTURE   VIII 

THE   DEVELOPMENT 

Division,  the  common  word  with  writers  on 
preaching,  means  the  steps  by  which  the  dis- 
cussion of  truth  is  carried  on.  It  is  apt  to 
suggest  a  single  method  of  the  sermon.  Devel- 
opment is  the  broader  and  happier  term,  and 
comprises  all  the  methods  of  discussion,  the 
choice  and  arrangement  and  expression  of  the 
materials  by  which  the  theme  is  unfolded. 

The  twofold  problem  is  the  proper  use  of 
analysis  and  synthesis. 

We  separate  into  parts,  we  divide  and 
subdivide,  that  the  truth  may  be  seen  in  its 
elements  and  relations,  that  the  essential  may 
be  distinguished  from  the  superficial,  that  only 
those  vitally  related  may  be  used.  This  process 
gives  the  sermon  its  clearness  and  order.  It  is 
the  analytic  method,  the  favorite  one  of  logi- 
cal minds :  the  one  to  be  used  if  the  chief 
purpose  is  instruction. 

173 


174  The  Development 

We  add  to,  combine,  repeat,  show  in  different 
lights  or  apply  in  many  spheres,  if  the  chief  pur- 
pose is  persuasion.  It  is  the  synthetic  method. 
It  is  not  so  anxious  for  form  as  for  life  and 
impression.  The  framework  never  protrudes. 
The  sermon  is  the  expression  of  life,  and  forms 
are  used  or  thrown  aside  as  they  voice  the 
thought  and  feeling  on  its  errand  of  grace. 
The  older  preachers  analyzed  ;  the  tendency  of 
recent  preachers  is  to  neglect  or  disguise  it. 
Spurgeon  and  Phillips  Brooks  are  good  examples 
of  the  two  methods  in  our  generation.  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  sermons  are  like  a  map,  the  whole 
work  laid  out  before  the  eye,  each  part  distinct 
and  in  its  place.  Bishop  Brooks's  sermons  are 
like  a  tree,  all  the  growth  from  a  single  seed, 
truth  organic  and  inseparable,  unfolding  from 
within  until  the  complete  life  is  attained. 

As  far  as  the  present  tendency,  the  reaction 
from  extreme  analysis,  is  in  the  interest  of  free- 
dom, variety,  individuality,  it  is  a  good  tendency. 
The  pulpit  is  too  often  dry  and  lifeless  through 
its  formality.  Text-books  of  Homiletics,  the 
drill  in  sermon-making,  must  emphasize  the 
form.  Men  must  learn  to  be  clear  and  orderly 
in  thought.  But  the  very  next  step  is  sterility 
unless  the  man  is  strong  in  originality  and 
heart  impulse.      "  Skeletons,  1  to  97,  and  only 


The  Development  175 

skeletons  without  the  Holy  Ghost,"  was  written 
on  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  note-books. 

"  Preaching  is  in  a  sense  teaching,  and  there 
can  be  no  good  teaching  without  an  orderly 
arrangement  of  material.  On  the  other  hand, 
preaching  is  oratory,  and  there  can  be  no  per- 
suasive oratory  without  continuity  of  feeling, 
unimpeded  flow  of  emotion."1  The  synthetic 
tendency  must  be  controlled  in  the  interest  of 
clear  and  logical  thinking,  and  by  the  law  that 
instruction  must  precede  all  deep  and  lasting 
emotion. 

The  Topical  and  Textual  Methods.  —  All  ser- 
mons may  be  classified  as  topical  or  textual. 
There  are  many  ways  of  classifying  sermons 
according  to  the  viewpoint  of  the  writer.  The 
mode  of  delivery  may  divide  sermons  into 
written,  memoriter,  extemporaneous  ;  the  sub- 
ject-matter into  doctrinal,  ethical,  historical, 
biographical ;  the  kinds  of  discussion  into  ex- 
planatory, observational,  propositional,  applica- 
tory.  But  the  simplest  classification  is  by  the 
mode  of  treating  the  text.  Under  this  classifi- 
cation most  writers  (see  Shedd,  Broadus,  Patti- 
son)  treat  of  topical,  textual,  and  expository  ser- 
mons. Dr.  Phelps~adds  a  fourth,  the  inferential. 
Now  a  careful  study  of  the  plans  under  these  four 
i  Foxell,  "  Sermon  and  Preacher,"  p.  22. 


176  The  Development 

methods  will  make  it  evident  that  the  names 
are  imperfect.  The  same  principle  governs  the 
development  of  the  topical  and  the  inferential, 
while  the  textual  and  expository  differ  only  in 
the  length  of  the  text.  There  are  then  but  two 
kinds  of  sermons  if  we  classify  by  the  modes  of 
treatment,  —  the  topical  and  the  textual. 

The  topical  is  a  sermon  in  which  the  theme 
is  derived  from  the  text,  and  developed  inde- 
pendently of  the  materials  and  order  of  the 
text.       Luke   xv.   17,    The  sinner's  delusion  : 

(1)  That  self-indulgence  is  the  life  of  pleasure; 

(2)  that  sin  will  not  be  punished ;  (3)  that 
a  life  of  obedience  is  slavish  and  joyless.  Many 
of  the  best  texts  of  Scripture  compel  this  mode 
of  treatment.  They  are  short,  condensed,  a 
great  principle,  or  a  single  phrase  of  truth  so 
stated  that  it  cannot  be  verbally  divided. 

The  freedom  of  the  topical  method  is  attrac- 
tive to  a  fertile  mind.  The  text  suggests  the 
theme,  but  other  parts  of  Scripture  are  sought 
for  proof  or  illustration,  and  so  the  truth  may 
have  a  more  thorough  discussion  and  a  broader 
view  of  Scripture  obtained.  And  in  its  single- 
ness it  may  be  a  better  logical  training  of  the 
mind  and  a  stronger  rhetorical  form. 

The  danger  of  the  topical  method  is  inven- 
tiveness at  the  expense  of  Scripture  authority, 


The  Development  177 

that  the  preacher  may  think  more  of  mental 
keenness  than  the  mind  of  the  Spirit. 

The  textual  or  expository  sermon  is  one  in 
which,  the  text  not  only  gives  the  theme,  but 
the  mode  of  treatment,  the  essential  steps  o\ 
the  development.  Is.  xxxiii.  16-17,  The  Chris- 
tian's privilege:  (1)  In  position;  (2)  provision; 
(3)  protection;  (4)  promise.  The  advantages 
of  the  textual  method  are  easily  seen.  It  seems 
the  natural  way.  Many  texts  of  Scripture  are 
arranged  in  the  best  order  for  preaching.  The 
words  and  phrases  as  they  stand  suggest  the 
richest,  strongest  thought. 

The  method  is  scriptural,  and  leads  to  the 
careful  exegesis  of  Scripture.  As  the  sur- 
face view  may  be  dry  and  commonplace,  the 
preacher  seeks  to  discover  the  deeper  and 
spiritual  relations  of  truth.  And  it  helps  to 
keep  the  sermon  within  the  limits  of  Scripture 
and  so  to  a  more  exact  teaching. 

It  tends  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  Scrip- 
tures and  increase  their  reverence  for  the 
authority  of  the  Word.  There  is  a  strong 
impression  that  the  pulpit  needs  a  revival  of 
textual  preaching,  especially  that  fresh  and  at- 
tractive teaching  of  connected  passages  which 
is  more  strictly  expository  preaching. 

The  dangers  of  the  textual  method  come  from 


178  The  Development 

careless,  uncritical  dealing  with  the  Scripture. 
The  surface  view  may  be  given  in  the  place  of 
the  deeper,  spiritual  relation. 

There  may  be  an  arbitrary  and  mechanical 
cutting  up  of  the  text,  without  regard  to  mean- 
ing or  length.  Such  treatment  belittles  the 
pulpit  in  the  eyes  of  intelligent  men.  It  has 
received  the  merciless  scorn  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Gough 
in  his  caricature  of  a  certain  preacher  in 
"  Peculiar  People."  "  My  friends,  my  text 
this  morning  is  The  Little  Bumble  Bee.  I 
propose  to  treat  it  in  the   following  manner  : 

(1)  It  is  a  bee;  (2)  it  is  a  bumble  bee ;  (3)  it  is 
a  little  bumble  bee."  In  William  Arnot's 
"  Anchor  of  the  Soul "  is  found  a  sermon  from 
Ps.  xlviii.  3  with  the  folio  wing  plan :   (1)  God; 

(2)  God  is ;  (3)  God  is  known ;  (4)  God  is 
known  in  her;  (5)  God  is  known  in  her  palaces; 
(6)  God  is  known  in  her  palaces  for  a  refuge. 
Nothing  less  than  Dr.  Arnot's  rich  life  could 
pour  a  living  word  into  such  an  artificial  mould. 
And  still  another  defect  of  the  textual  method 
is  lack  of  unity,  movement,  and  converging 
force,  making  the  sermon  a  running  comment 
or  a  series  of  disconnected  talks  rather  than  a 
single,  harmonious,  and  effective  growth. 

A  proper  consideration  of  these  two  methods 
of  sermon  structure  will  lead  to  a  variety  in 


The  Development  179 

preaching.  One  method  should  not  be  followed 
exclusively  nor  long  at  a  time.  The  preacher 
will  get  into  ruts,  and  the  people  soon  tire  of 
his  unvarying  method.  He  needs  variety  for 
his  own  mental  training.  And  the  utmost  in- 
vention is  demanded  for  the  efficiency  of  the 
pulpit. 

And  such  consideration  will  lead  to  a  wise 
proportion  in  themes  and  treatment.  Some 
audiences  need  more  instruction  that  comes 
from  textual  sermons ;  and  others,  well  taught 
already,  need  the  stronger  persuasion  that  flows 
from  topical  preaching.  What  is  needed  by  all 
churches  is  consistent,  symmetrical  treatment 
of  the  Bible,  and  of  method,  a  wise  proportion 
of  exposition,  argument,  illustration,  and  appeal. 

And  it  should  be  said  that  sermons  may  com- 
bine both  methods.  Many  are  never  clearly 
and  purely  one  or  the  other.  The  analytic  and 
synthetic  should  be  used  in  every  sermon.  But 
especially  the  expository  spirit  should  control 
the  preacher.  The  preacher  is  the  interpreter, 
and  he  fails  unless  he  increasingly  teaches  the 
truths  of  the  Bible. 

The  General  Principle  of  Development.  —  Ad- 
aptation is  the  general  law  that  should  govern 
the  development  of  the  sermon.     The  method 


180  The  Development 

should  always  be  in  harmony  with  the  text  and 
theme.  A  logical  discussion  of  "  I  am  the 
good  Shepherd  "  as  surely  destroys  the  signifi- 
cance and  charm  of  the  truth,  as  picking  a  flower 
to  pieces  destroys  its  beauty  and  fragrance. 
While  "  Who  can  forgive  sins,  but  God  only  ?  " 
might  demand  just  such  analysis.  The  audience 
must  be  considered  as  well  as  the  text.  And 
the  gift  and  taste  of  the  preacher  will  come  in 
as  well.  While  we  are  to  keep  oat  of  ruts, 
cultivate  the  power  of  variety,  we  have  the 
right  to  use  what  we  can  use  the  best.  We 
must  not  be  hampered  by  any  unnatural  method. 
No  David  is  to  be  encased  in  Saul's  armor.  The 
logical  mind  will  use  logic,  only  let  it  be  on  fire 
with  passion  for  the  truth  and  love  for  men. 
The  emotional  and  imaginative  nature  must 
speak  through  its  own  faculties,  only  let  it  have 
its  firm  base  in  truth,  and  its  plan  directed  by  the 
good  of  men.  It  is  largely  a  question  of  utility. 
This  law  of  adaptation  applies  as  well  to  the 
number  of  divisions.  The  sermon  may  have  a 
dozen  points ;  it  may  have  but  one.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher's  first  effective  sermon  was  an 
accumulation  of  "  You  Knows  "  until  forty  had 
been  reached.1  It  is  better  to  develop  one 
strong  argument  than  discuss  several  weaker 
1  "  Yale  Lectures,"  p.  10. 


The  Development  181 

ones.  It  is  more  difficult  to  do  this,  because  it 
requires  closer  and  more  continuous  reflection  ; 
but  the  sermon  is  the  better  for  it.  A  strong 
and  fertile  thought  should  be  enlarged,  held 
up  in  its  fulness  and  splendor,  not  half  covered 
up  by  the  addition  of  inferior  points.  A  good 
maxim  for  the  preacher  is  "  Amplify  rather 
than  multiply." 

The  Steps  of  Development.  —  Development 
may  proceed  by  a  series  of  propositions,  ex- 
planations, observations,  or  examples  and  il- 
lustrations. And  each  one  of  these  may  be 
according   to  the  parts  of   the  theme  or  text. 

Dr.  Hitchcock's  "  Eternal  Atonement "  gives 
a  good  example  of  the  development  by  propo- 
sitions. "  Who  can  forgive  sins  ?  "  Mark  ii.  7. 
(1)  Whether  God  can  forgive  sins  or  not,  it  is 
certain  that  no  other  being  can.  (a)  Man  can- 
not forgive  himself.  (5)  Man  cannot  forgive 
his  neighbor.  (2)  Can  God  forgive  ?  The  rea- 
sons why  God  can  forgive  and  the  nature  of  this 
forgiveness. 

Robertson's  sermon  on  "Worldliness,"  1  John 
ii.  15-17,  is  an  example  of  development  by  ex- 
planations. (1)  The  nature  of  the  forbidden 
world.  Not  the  world  of  nature,  men,  occupa- 
tion, but  the  world  as  controlled  by  wrong  love, 


182  The  Development 

lust.  Hence  attachment  to  the  outward,  tran- 
sitory, unreal.  (2)  The  reason  for  which  the 
love  of  the  world  is  forbidden.  Incompatible 
with  love  of  God,  transitory,  the  permanence  of 
Christian  action. 

Dr.  William  M.  Taylor  has  an  excellent  obser- 
vational development  in  "  Elijah  the  Prophet," 
The  vision  of  Elijah,  1  Kings  xix.  12.  (1)  In 
God's  government  the  quietest  influence  is 
often  the  most  powerful.  (2)  The  force  of 
love  is  always  greater  than  that  of  sternness. 
(3)  The  apparently  insignificant  is  often  the 
most  important. 

John  x.  10  might  fittingly  be  developed  by  a 
series  of  examples  or  illustrations  :  "  Enlarged 
Manhood."  (1)  The  Apostle  John,  the  unlet- 
tered fisherman,  becoming  the  spiritual  leader 
and  theologian.  (2)  Martin  Luther,  the  humble 
monk,  becoming  the  prophet  and  reformer. 
(3)  John  Newton,  the  slaver,  becoming  the 
Christian  minister  and  hymnist.  (4)  Samuel 
Crowther,  the  slave  boy,  becoming  the  Bishop 
of  the  Niger.  (5)  The  force  that  works  the 
change  and  growth.  A  logical  theme  will  nat- 
urally lead  to  a  series  of  propositions,  while  a 
rhetorical  theme  admits  of  greater  freedom  in 
the  form  of  development. 

Should  a  single  form  of  development  be  kept 


The  Development  183 

through  the  sermon  ?  There  is,  no  doubt,  a  cer- 
tain advantage  in  such  harmony.  Yet  the 
preacher  will  often  be  led  by  the  need  of  his 
audience  to  make  one  step  a  proposition,  the 
next  an  illustration,  and  so  on  ;  it  is  solely  a 
question  of  service. 

The  Special   Laws  of  Development.  —  As  to 

substance.  Each  division  should  have  a  vital 
force.  The  secondary  and  accidental  should 
not  be  exalted  to  such  a  place  in  the  sermon. 
Each  point  should  be  directly  connected  with 
the  theme,  and  be  a  genuine  demonstration 
and  unfolding  of  it. 

Each  division  should  have  a  distinct  char- 
acter. It  must  not  be  a  mere  modification  of 
some  other  head.  It  must  not  have  elements 
that  are  found  in  other  divisions.  One  point 
may  grow  out  of  another,  but  each  one  should 
be  distinctly  in  advance. 

The  strict  application  of  these  two  laws 
would  save  the  pulpit  from  needless  division 
and  inferior  argument.  "  Some  sermons,"  says 
Dr.  Shedd,  "  are  good  illustrations  of  the  infi- 
nite divisibility  of  matter,  but  produce  no  con- 
viction in  the  popular  mind,  because  they  employ 
the  philosophical  instead  of  the  rhetorical  mode 
of  demonstration." 


184  The  Development 

As  to  the  style.  Great  pains  should  be  taken 
with  the  form  of  the  divisions.  This  is  as  im- 
portant in  its  way  as  the  wording  of  the  theme. 
The  points  should  be  announced  in  the  co7icisest, 
clearest,  briefest  words.  No  matter  of  explana- 
tion or  development  should  be  in  their  word- 
ing. Let  such  amplification  of  the  point  come 
after  its  statement,  if  need  be.  But  the  division 
itself  should  be  given  in  a  way  of  clear  and 
striking  impression.  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson  makes 
a  plea  for  alliteration,  parallelism,  and  other 
rhetorical  devices  for  impressing  the  mind  and 
aiding  the  memory.  And  he  gives  a  good  ex- 
ample under  the  theme,  "  Four  Rules  of  Chris- 
tian Living " :  (1)  Admit,  open  the  doors  to 
truth  ;  (2)  submit,  bow  to  the  will  of  God ; 
(3)  commit,  trust  yourself  to  Christ ;  (4)  trans- 
mit, convey  truth  and  life  to  other  souls. 

Such  manner  would  serve  well  as  an  occa- 
sional use,  but  might  easily  grow  into  an  artifi- 
cial habit.  In  style  nothing  can  atone  for  the 
loss  of  naturalness  and  simplicity. 

As  to  the  order.  There  is  no  best  or  neces- 
sary order.  In  argument  it  will  depend  upon 
the  nature  and  force  of  the  proof.  The  matter 
will  be  further  discussed  under  "argument." 
In  other  kinds  of  discussion  the  order  will  not  be 
fixed,  varying  according  to  material  and  purpose. 


The  Development  185 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  order 
should  be  natural:  no  sudden  break  from  one 
point  to  another  ;  but  in  the  order  of  simple 
suggestion  and  growth,  and  in  the  order  of 
increasing  impression.     Order  means  climax. 

The  Transitions.  —  The  perfect  transition  is 
one  of  thought  and  not  of  phrase.  It  is  when 
the  last  sentence  of  the  one  division  naturally 
leads  to  the  statement  of  a  second.  "  Well-cut 
stories  are  united  without  cement." 

Commonly  the  transitions  are  made  by  words 
or  sentences.  Special  care  must  be  taken  when 
a  short  paragraph  is  needed  by  way  of  transition. 

The  thought  should  be  vitally  related  —  a 
ligament,  not  a  mere  clasp.  It  should  be  in- 
teresting, yet  subordinate  to  the  division.  It 
is  easy  to  use  an  illustration  or  story  so  as 
to  divert  the  mind  from  the  line  of  thought. 
When  the  transition  consists  of  words  or  phrases, 
we  must  avoid  formality  of  constantly  using  the 
same  words.     Cultivate  a  natural  variety. 

The  Announcement  of  Divisions.  —  Should  they 
be  preannounced  ?  In  some  cases,  when  the 
thought  is  difficult.  It  will  help  the  audience  to 
follow  the  discussion.  The  danger  is  the  loss 
of  anticipation. 


186  The  Development 

"  Nothing  we  may  safely  say  chills  a  congre- 
gation more  than  to  be  told  beforehand  all  that 
awaits  them.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  they 
will  be  more  interested  in  looking  for  the  end 
of  the  first  point,  and  in  trying  to  guess  from 
the  length  of  that  what  the  length  of  the  whole 
sermon  will  probably  be,  than  in  the  matter  of 
which  the  first  division  treats.  They  will  be 
tempted  mentally  to  tick  off  each  point  as  it  is 
finished  and  give  place  to  the  next  in  order. 
The  interest  of  the  congregation  becomes  cen- 
tred in  the  wrong  thing."  l 

Recapitulation  is  often  better.  It  is  more 
intelligible,  more  impressive,  and  more  lasting. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  make  too  formal  an  an- 
nouncement of  divisions.  Each  point  should 
be  given  in  such  simple  and  clear  language, 
and  by  proper  transitions,  that  every  hearer 
will  know  it  to  be  a  step  in  advance.  This  can 
be  done  without  calling  attention  to  the  fact. 
The  statement  of  divisions  should  not  be  dams 
to  interrupt  the  flow  of  discourse,  rather  doors 
opening  into  new  treasures  of  truth. 

You  will  notice  that  this  discussion  of  devel- 
opment applies  especially  to  logical  themes.  In 
general,  the  principles  hold  also  in  rhetorical 
themes.  There  should  be  an  accumulation, 
1  Foxell,  "  Sermon  and  Preacher,"  p.  19. 


The  Development  187 

step  by  step,  of  genuinely  demonstrative  mate 
rial.     It  should  acquire  additional  logical  force, 
and  produce  a  growing  conviction  in  the  mind 
of  the  hearer. 

Effective    Qualities    in    Development.  —  We 

should  consider  those  elements  that  pertain  to 
the  development  of  the  form  into  the  living 
body,  the  qualities  essential  to  the  gaining  of 
the  end  of  the  sermon.  They  belong  to  the 
structure  even  more  than  the  style  ;  to  the 
whole   sermon  rather  than  to  any  particular 

part  of  it. 

We  all  understand  that  sermons  are  to  be 
growths  and  not  manufactures;  and  that  a 
growth,  a  living  expression,  however  defective 
in  form,  is  always  to  be  preferred  to  perfection  of 
form  without  this  individual  life.  The  ques- 
tion about  the  cup  is  not  whether  it  is  chased  or 
of  gold,  but  does  it  hold  the  water  of  life. 

But  there  are  structural  channels  of  life,  there 
are  certain  elements  that  belong  to  true  ser- 
mons, that  mark  the  life  in  them,  and  make 
that  life  more  effective.  And  I  mention  three 
familiar  elements,  and  pertaining  to  the  special 
parts  as  well  as  the  whole  :  unity,  order,  move- 
ment. 

Unity  is  singleness  of  idea,  not  sameness  of 


188  The  Development 

idea.  It  does  not  come  from  mere  contact  of 
connected  truths,  and  is  consistent  with  great 
variety  and  even  contrast  of  truths.  Diverse 
and  opposite  truths  may  even  enhance  the 
effect  of  unity,  if  there  is  singleness  of  idea 
underlying  all.  It  is  born  of  diversity  :  one 
out  of  many. 

This  unity  of  the  sermon  comes  from  single- 
ness of  theme  and  singleness  of  aim.  Single- 
ness of  theme  is  the  beginning  of  it,  and  it  is 
continued  by  singleness  of  aim.  Every  true 
sermon  has  some  definite  purpose  to  accomplish. 
What  is  the  exact  truth  of  the  passage  and  why 
should  I  speak  the  truth  lies  back  of  every  real 
sermon.  The  audience  must  be  in  mind  as 
well  as  the  truth,  if  unity  is  to  be  achieved. 
Definiteness  of  aim  Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor  puts  as 
the  first  quality  of  effective  preaching.  It  is 
as  necessary  for  preaching  as  for  hunting.  And 
furthermore,  unity  is  the  use  of  that  only  which 
develops  the  theme  and  accomplishes  the  object. 
Nothing  is  admitted  into  the  sermon  false  to 
this ;  it  is  the  test  of  illustration,  argument,  and 
lesson. 

The  conditions  of  unity  will  suggest  some 
common  violations.  Needless  explanation, 
whatever  is  not  needed  for  the  clearness  of 
meaning,  that  calls  the  thought  from  the  truth 


The  Development  189 

to  the  meaning  of  words  and  the  processes  of 
language:  exposition  of  a  fact  or  doctrine, 
seemingly  for  its  own  sake,  going  beyond  its 
application  to  present  truth  ;  and  Scripture 
quotation  beyond  the  exact  point  of  likeness. 

All  digressions  not  turning  again  into  the 
stream  of  thought  and  so  adding  to  it  are 
violations.  As  sameness  of  idea  is  not  the 
essence  of  unity,  the  most  deadening  effect 
may  be  produced  by  no  change  of  key.  Mo- 
ments of  relief  are  necessary  for  heightened 
effect.  All  the  great  dramatists  understand 
this  principle,  and  it  is  quite  as  necessary  in 
preaching  with  its  themes  of  high  thought. 
Then  there  may  be  seeming  digressions  that  are 
journeys  for  new  stores,  adding  at  last  to  the 
value  of  the  sermon.  They  are  not  chance  di- 
gressions, thoughtless,  but  always  for  a  purpose. 

An  illustration  carried  too  far  is  a  digression 
of  thought.  An  earnest,  intense  purpose  must 
control  all  such  material.  Thoughts  may  nat- 
urally grow  out  of  the  subject ;  but  if  they  lead 
away  from  the  direct  purpose  of  the  sermon, 
they  give  no  help  to  it. 

The  advantage  of  unity  is  evident.  It  stim- 
ulates the  inventive  faculty  of  the  preacher. 
Unity  compels  aim  and  so  calls  forth  the  best 
powers  of  the  thinker.     It  secures  definiteness 


190  The  Development 

of  impression.  Want  of  it  makes  the  sermon 
like  a  whirl  of  sparks,  or  like  dead  words  strung 
down  a  dictionary.  It  tends  to  cumulative 
force;  it  is  blow  on  blow,  gathers  momentum 
as  it  proceeds. 

Order.  —  Heaven's  first  law  is  as  truly  the 
law  of  the  sermon.  Vinet  goes  so  far  as  to 
say  that  there  can  be  no  discourse  without  it. 
Order  is  always  a  gain  to  the  sermon. 

It  makes  the  sermon  intelligible.  Clearness 
of  style  is  not  enough  to  make  the  sermon 
understood ;  it  must  have  proper  arrangement. 
Order  gives  the  sermon  power.  An  arch  of 
stones  is  stronger  than  a  heap.  A  sermon 
without  order  may  have  certain  power,  the 
power  of  feeling  or  the  broken  power  of  its 
separate  truths ;  but  it  is  the  power  of  a  mob, 
not  of  an  organized  and  disciplined  troop. 

Demands  of  order  are,  in  the  words  of  Hor- 
ace, that  "  he  just  now  say  what  ought  just 
now  to  be  said  "  —  in  other  words,  the  material 
in  its  proper  place.  One  thing  at  a  time,  dis- 
tinct and  complete  in  itself;  at  the  same  time 
the  relation  of  things  truly  observed,  so  that  the 
continuity  of  thought  is  kept. 

Movement.  —  Movement  is  the  very  life  of 
the  sermon,  that  which  bears  the  thought  on- 
ward and  the  hearer  with  it. 


The  Development  191 

It  involves  both  continuity  and  progress. 
Movement  is  the  genius  of  climax.  No  great 
effect  can  be  produced  without  it;  it  charac- 
terizes all  great  speech. 

The  hindrances  to  movement  are  in  the 
isolation  and  independence  of  ideas.  Ideas 
come  to  the  mind  from  different  sources,  of 
different  kinds,  for  different  purposes;  and  in 
this  state  they  make  movement  impossible. 
They  must  be  arranged  and  assimilated.  Pro- 
lixity, undue  expansion  of  ideas,  is  another 
hindrance.  Revolving  is  not  movement.  We 
are  to  seize  the  salient  points  and  not  pursue 
ideas,  illustrations,  explanations,  beyond  the 
necessary  use.  Digressions  compel  a  pause, 
divert  attention,  and  so  impede  the  movement. 
However  instructive  in  themselves,  they  should 
be  left  aside. 

There  are  some  practical  helps  to  move- 
ment. Begin  with  reserve.  Do  not  touch  the 
strongest  element  of  the  truth  at  once  or  voice 
the  strongest  feeling.  Study  the  power  of 
condensation.  In  description,  give  the  distinc- 
tive features;  in  narration,  learn  the  rapid 
passing  from  incident  to  incident;  in  argu- 
ment, lay  hold  of  the  important  points;  in 
single  sentences,  avoid  undue  qualifications; 
in   paragraphs,   avoid  undue   expansion.     De- 


192  The  Development 

velop  the  points  of  the  sermon  in  proportion 
to  their  importance.  Do  not  spend  too  much 
time  on  introductory  thoughts,  and  avoid  the 
expansion  of  minor  points. 

True  order  will  help  to  movement,  the  order 
of  growing  importance. 

There  is  an  advantage  in  continuous  writing. 
The  method  of  writing  on  different  phases  of 
the  subject1  and  then  putting  them  together, 
expecting  a  single  living  message  to  come  from 
them,  is  a  large  faith  in  the  consistent  and 
unifying  nature  of  thought.  Dr.  Samuel  John- 
son's maxim,  "Write  with  fury  and  correct 
with  phlegm,"  should  have  large  use  with  the 
preacher.  There  is  a  concentration  that  quick- 
ens the  mind,  that  gives  an  increased  enthu- 
siasm, a  noble  passion,  as  the  mind  dwells  upon 
the  truth,  and  as  the  desires  go  out  to  the  men 
and  women  to  be  reached  and  helped  by  the 
Gospel  message.  The  highest  life  of  speech 
is  gained  by  such  concentration  of  the  soul. 

The  practical  suggestions  of  Dr.  Magee,  the 
late  Archbishop  of  York,  may  fittingly  close 
the  discussion  of  development: 

"The  rule  I  always  followed  was  never  to 
have  more  than  one  idea  in  my  sermon  and 
arrange  every  sentence  with  a  view  to  that. 
1  See  Dr.  Watson,  "  Cure  of  Souls,"  p.  26. 


TJie  Development  193 

This  is  extremely  difficult.  I  don't  recollect 
succeeding  in  doing  this  more  than  three  times. 

"  A  good  sermon  should  be  like  a  wedge,  all 
telling  to  a  point ;  eloquence  and  manner  are 
the  hammer  that  send  it  home;  but  the  sine 
qua  non  is  the  disposition  of  the  parts,  the 
shape.  I  am  convinced  this  is  the  secret  of 
sermon-making.  I  gave  two  years  to  the 
study  of  it."  He  speaks  of  preaching  as  the 
art  of  word-painting  in  the  pulpit.  In  the  pul- 
pit, the  word-painter  is  not  showing  a  com- 
pleted work,  but  is  painting  a  picture  in  full 
view  of  those  to  whom  he  speaks,  filling  in 
the  details  before  their  eyes,  and  he  necessarily 
aims  at  inducing  the  spectators  to  wait  until 
he  has  finished.  He  must,  therefore,  in  the 
first  place,  secure  and  keep  the  attention  of 
his  audience.  He  can  only  do  this  by  making 
the  backbone  and  skeleton  firm  and  strong, 
and  by  a  clear,  logical  connection  between  the 
various  parts  of  the  discourse.  The  secret  of 
power  in  attracting  attention  lies  in  this : 
arrangement,  arrangement,  arrangement. 

He  especially  emphasizes  the  unity  of  idea, 
if  one  would  be  understood  by  a  mixed  con- 
gregation. "Stick  to  one  idea.  This  insures 
its  being  better  understood  and  better  remem- 
bered.    If  when  you  have  written  your  sermon, 


194  The  Development 

you  cannot  give  it  a  name,  tear  it  up  and  begin 
a  new  one.  Nothing  must  be  allowed  to  over- 
shadow this  main  idea ;  and  the  preacher  need 
not  be  afraid  of  repetitions,  but  should  en- 
deavor to  set  the  same  idea  before  the  mind  in 
various  ways  and  exhibit  it  in  different  forms 
of  words." 


LECTURE  IX 

THE  CONCLUSION 


OUTLINE 

Application  of  truth  discussed. 

i.  Importance.    The  moment  of  supreme  impression.     This 
implied  in  — 

a  The  very  nature  of  oratory  as  a  movement  of  thought. 
&  Demanded  by  the  purpose  of  preaching,  persuasion  to 
right  living.    Requires  plan  and  discipline.    The  best 
of  the  man  should  speak.    Habit  of  great  speakers. 

2.  The  kinds  of  conclusion. 

a  No  formal  ending.    The  whole  sermon  practical.    Truth 

left  to  make  its  own  impression. 
&  Recapitulation  and  resume. 

1.  Recapitulation.     The  points  in  the  strongest  order. 

When  shall  new  language  be  used  ? 

2.  Re'sume.      The  sum  of  the  whole  in  its  greatest  force 

and  breadth. 
c   Indirect  appeals.    Inferences  or  lessons.    They  may  be 
a  large  part  of  the  sermon. 

1.  Legitimate.    Not  incidental,  but  from  the  heart  of  the 

sermon. 

2.  Harmonious.     Truths  not  self-conflicting. 

3.  Practical.     Not  theory,  but  truth  for  life,  addressed 

to  the  common  mind  and  heart. 

4.  Cumulative.    One  upon  another  in  the  same  direction. 
d  Direct  appeals. 

1.  Appropriate.    Enforce  the  truth. 

2.  Simple.    Shall  truth  be  applied  in  twofold  directions  ? 

The  best  effect  demands  convergence  on  a  single 
class  or  duty  or  motive, 
e    Suggestions. 

1.  Direct  appeals  to  reason,  conscience,  will;   indirect 

appeals  to  the  emotions. 

2.  The  use  of  illustration  in  appeals. 

3.  Practice  an  economy  of  exhortation. 

3.  The  general  qualities  of  the  conclusion. 

a  It  must  grow  out  of  the  sermon  and  be  necessary  to  it. 

6  It  should  be  simple,  strong,  and  generally  brief.  Here 
the  heart  speaks.  Be  natural  and  direct.  Know  when 
to  stop.    Leave  the  soul  alone  with  God. 

References: 

Broadus.     "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."    pp.  230-240,  277-288. 
Phelps.     "  Theory  of  Preaching."    32-39. 
Homiletic  Review,  1887.    "  The  Application  in  Sa- 
cred Oratory." 
Pattison.    "The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    12. 

196 


LECTURE    IX 

THE    CONCLUSION 

The  conclusion  is  that  part  of  the  sermon 
that  applies  the  truth  already  treated  in  the 
discussion. 

Its  importance,  then,  is  evident. 

It  is  not  a  mere  appendage  of  the  discussion 
or  a  pleasant  way  of  stopping.  It  is  the  crown- 
ing, burning,  vital  point  of  the  sermon.  The 
best  of  the  man  should  speak  then  ;  it  is  the 
moment  of  supreme  impression  upon  the  souls 
of  the  audience. 

This  is  implied  in  the  very  idea  of  oratory, 
as  a  movement  of  thought  :  the  culmination  of 
the  thought,  its  strongest  movement  at  the  end. 
And  it  is  furthermore  demanded  by  the  pur- 
pose of  all  preaching,  persuasion  to  holy  life. 
The  elements  of  instruction  will  vary  with  the 
text  and  audience  ;  but  truth  is  never  for  its 
own  sake,  ever  for  the  soul's  sake,  and  instruc- 
tion is  the  condition  for  moving  the  soul. 

So  we  should  put  our  best  life  into  the  last 
197 


198  The   Conclusion 

words.  And  this  requires  planning  and  train- 
ing. We  must  see  the  end  from  the  beginning. 
We  too  often  come  to  the  end  with  nagging 
interest  and  wearied  powers. 

The  Different  Kinds  of  Conclusion.  —  The 
sermon  may  have  no  formal  ending.  The  last 
point  or  division  may  be  the  end.  The  truth 
completed  may  be  left  to  make  its  own  impres- 
sion. If  the  whole  sermon  or  a  large  part  of  it 
has  been  about  practical  truth,  and  treated  in  a 
warm,  sympathetic  way,  there  may  be  no  need 
of  distinct  application.  Further  words  might 
only  deaden  impression.  "  I  have  always  found 
that  such  preaching  of  others  hath  most  com- 
manded my  heart  which  hath  most  illumined 
my  head."  1 

Recapitulation  of  the  argument  or  resume  of 
the  discussion. 

In  recapitulation,  care  should  be  taken  that 
the  proof  is  put  in  its  strongest  order.  It 
should  have  the  form  of  climax,  the  most  per- 
suasive matter  last.  If  such  review  is  followed 
by  a  short  appeal,  then  let  the  recapitulation  be  in 
the  same  language  as  in  the  body  of  the  sermon. 
Otherwise  new  language  might  add  force  to 
the  conclusion. 

The  resume  of  the  discussion  should  be  put 
1  Whichcote. 


The   Conclusion  199 

in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  sum  of  the  whole, 
and  in  its  greatest  unity  and  force. 

Indirect  Appeals.  —  These  are  usually  in  the 
form  of  inferences  or  lessons.  The  proposition 
may  be  an  admitted  truth  and  the  inferences 
the  important  part  of  the  sermon.  The  body  of 
the  sermon  may  be  upon  a  doctrine,  or  an  event 
of  history,  and  the  inferences  the  practical  les- 
sons for  men. 

Such  lessons  should  be  legitimate,  not  inci- 
dental, but  from  the  very  heart  and  substance 
of  the  sermon,  so  that  all  will  see  and  feel  their 
force.  They  should  be  harmonious,  and  this 
will  result  if  they  come  naturally  from  the  truth 
of  the  sermon,  for  truth  is  not  self-conflicting. 
They  should  be  intensely  practical,  free  from  all 
theory  and  abstraction,  making  their  address  to 
the  common  mind  and  heart.  The  address  has 
been  made  to  the  intellect  in  the  discussion  of 
the  proposition,  and  now  it  is  primarily  aimed  at 
conscience  and  will.  And  then  they  should  be 
cumulative,  one  upon  the  other,  each  in  the  same 
direction  if  possible,  the  last  the  strongest  of  all. 

The  following  plan  is  an  example  of  an  infer- 
ential conclusion. 

Is.  lx.  22,  "The  little  one  shall  become  a 
thousand,  and  the  small  one  a  strong  nation." 

The   law   of   spiritual   increase.        (1)    The 


200  The   Conclusion 

increase  is  from  insignificant  and  despised  be- 
ginnings. Developed  from  the  history  of  the 
Church.  (2)  Why  is  the  increase  so  great  ? 
Secret  of  the  power  of  Christianity.  (3)  Con- 
clusion by  inferences.  (#)  The  truth  de- 
nounces despair  in  spiritual  life.  (5)  It  warns 
us  against  repression  in  the  service  of  God. 
(c)  Spiritual  growth  is  from  within,  by  the 
power  of  the  inner  life,  (d)  The  promise  of 
growth  for  the  individual  and  for  society. 

The  expository  and  biographical  sermons  of 
Dr.  William  M.  Taylor  usually  have  a  full  con- 
clusion in  the  form  of  lessons,  the  practical  part 
following  the  doctrinal  or  historical  exposition. 
They  illustrate  both  the  strength  and  weakness 
of  such  conclusion.  The  practical  lessons  are 
rich  and  varied,  but  from  the  wide  range  of 
materials  in  the  exposition  the  lessons  often  lack 
the  power  of  unity  and  convergence.  The  shrap- 
nel is  not  the  effective  form  of  public  speech. 

Direct  Appeals.  —  Inferences  are  somewhat 
didactic.  They  reach  the  conscience  and  will, 
through  further  unfolding  of  the  practical 
aspects  of  the  truth. 

Direct  appeals,  on  the  other  hand,  have  little 
of  the  didactic;  they  are  hortatory,  and  they 
require  the  highest  skill. 

Such  appeal  should  be  appropriate.     It  should 


The   Conclusion  201 

enforce  the  one  proposition  or  lesson  of  the  ser- 
mon. And  this  implies  unity  of  impression. 
It  should  be  single. 

There  is  a  temptation  to  multiply  appeals, 
and  to  play  upon  the  different  motives  of  the 
heart,  and  to  apply  to  different  classes  of  men. 
We  should  remember  that  exhortation  must 
be  practised  with  economy ;  that  men  will  not 
bear  too  much;  that  we  have  other  sermons 
to  preach,  with  perhaps  years  before  us,  and 
other  lessons  and  appeals  may  be  given  in 
other  sermons ;  that  the  best  effect  demands 
convergence  —  the  whole  force  upon  one  mo- 
tive or  class  or  duty. 

There  are  some  truths  that  may  be  ap- 
plied in  the  twofold  direction  to  believers 
and  unbelievers;  but  in  general  the  truth 
admits  of  but  one  appeal  of  the  strongest 
kind.  Then  it  is  unwise  for  the  preacher  to 
take  the  judgment  seat  and  divide  men  into 
classes.  His  truth  should  be  universal,  for 
man  as  man.  And  each  soul  must  be  left 
to  make  its  own  appropriation. 

Suggestions.  —  It  must  be  noted  here  that 
direct  appeals  may  be  made  to  conscience, — 
the  sense  of  ought  and  ought  not,  —  but  not 
to  the  emotions. 

You  never  feel  unless  you  have  the  reason 


202  The   Conclusion 

for  feeling.  You  put  your  hand  in  the  fire,  and 
you  have  the  feeling  of  pain.  Let  the  light 
of  a  beautiful  sunset  come  to  the  eye,  and 
you  have  the  sense  of  pleasure.  The  reli- 
gious emotions  are  just  as  closely  connected 
with  the  perception.  If  you  wish  to  make 
men  feel,  you  must  in  some  way  give  them 
fuller  vision. 

"I  hold  that  all  emotion  is  based  on  intel- 
lectual conviction.  Even  your  sense  of  nat- 
ural beauty  is  so  based.  A  man  may  have 
faith  in  what  he  does  not  understand,  but  he 
cannot  have  emotion  in  what  he  does  not 
understand.  Devotion  must  be  the  child  of 
reflection ;  it  may  rise  on  wings,  but  they 
must  be  the  wings  of  thought."1 

We  must  make  the  most  direct  and  pun- 
gent appeals  to  conscience.  They  cannot  be 
too  clear  and  strong.  Duty  is  imperative  — 
the  duty  of  action.  "  He  will  never  be  a 
preacher,"  says  Dr.  Stalker,  "who  does  not 
know  how  to  get  at  the  conscience.  We  are 
preaching  to  the  fancy,  to  the  imagination,  to 
intellect,  to  feeling,  to  will,  and  no  doubt  all 
these  must  be  preached  to ;  but  it  is  in  the 
conscience  that  the  battle  is  to  be  won  or  lost." 

JDr.  George  Matheson,  "Studies  of  the  Portrait  of 
Christ." 


The  Conclusion  203 

It  is  unskilful  work  to  attempt  to  move 
men  by  direct  appeal  to  the  emotions,  as  is 
the  custom  of  many  preachers.  aA  straight- 
forward appeal  to  the  intellect  and  conscience 
of  men"  is  the  rational  method.  The  writer 
once  studied  the  effect  upon  an  audience  of 
two  addresses  at  the  funeral  of  a  young 
clergyman.  The  first  was  full  of  direct  ap- 
peal, aiming  at  the  feelings,  dwelling  on  the 
pathetic  incidents  of  the  last  sickness  and  of 
the  relation  of  pastor  and  people.  A  few 
weak  natures  were  moved  by  this  sentimen- 
talism,  but  the  strong  men  plainly  showed 
their  indifference.  The  second  speaker  quietly 
and  simply  drew  a  portrait  of  character,  and 
the  new  light  subdued  the  mind,  awakening 
the  response  of  the  nobler  nature  to  the  vision 
of  noble  character. 

The  best  conclusion  is  often  an  illustration 
that  puts  the  message  in  living  light.  Here 
is  the  power  of  illustration.  It  embodies  the 
truth,  sets  it  before  the  mind,  and  in  that 
vividness  the  feelings  are  profoundly  affected. 
Poetry  may  have  the  same  power.  It  reaches 
the  feelings  through  the  imagination.  Dr. 
Parkhurst  closes  three  sermons  (in  two  vol- 
umes) with  long  poems. 

The  appeal  to  the  emotions  must  never  be 


204  The   Conclusion 

for  the  sake  of  feeling,  but  for  conviction 
and  action.  Feeling  that  does  not  move  in 
the  practical  channel  of  duty  is  often  destructive 
of  the  higher  life.  Communities  that  have  been 
subject  to  certain  types  of  emotional  evangelism 
have  been  burnt  over  as  by  a  forest  fire. 
The  elements  of  feeling  have  been  wastefully 
exhausted,  and  a  generation  of  patient  tillage 
and  waiting  must  pass  before  the  soil  will 
produce  the  growths  of  genuine  religion. 

The  wise  preacher  will  exhort  as  little  as 
possible.  The  growth  of  intelligence  will 
often  render  it  needless  and  useless.  He 
should  always  avoid  the  common  use  of  the 
verbal  signs  of  feeling,  the  purely  mechanical 
forms  of  exhortation. 

I  have  said  that  the  direct  appeal  should  be 
appropriate  and  single.  "If  the  law  has  been 
preached,  then  let  the  conclusion  be  legal, 
damnatory,  terrible,"  says  Dr.  Shedd.  "  If 
the  Gospel  has  been  preached,  let  the  con- 
clusion be  winning,  encouraging,  and  hopeful." 
Dr.  Shedd's  advice  is  not  always  best.  While 
the  appeal  should  be  single  in  its  effect,  the 
effect  is  sometimes  heightened  by  contrast. 
The  truth  of  Luke  xiii.  23-24  would  not  be 
served  by  an  appeal  in  the  same  thought  and 
tone  as  the  body  of  the  sermon.     "  The  door 


The   Conclusion  205 

is  narrow ;  the  duty  is  imperative,  strive  ye ; 
the  risk  is  real,  many  shall  fail."  The  noblest 
appeal  is  not  in  the  same  key,  but  in  a  sudden 
change  of  thought.  "  The  city  of  God  stands 
four  square,  three  gates  on  a  side.  There  is 
room  for  all." 

The  General  Qualities  of  the  Conclusion.  — 
"Whatever  be  the  form  of  the  conclusion,  it 
must  be  organically  connected  with  the  pre- 
vious discussion.  It  must  grow  out  of  it  and 
be  necessary  to  it;  it  must  strictly  carry  out 
and  enforce  the  topic  treated.  It  must  be  the 
same  stream  of  thought,  increased  in  volume 
and  force,  which  at  the  beginning  of  the  ser- 
mon was  seen  to  flow  from  the  text." 

It  should  be  simple,  strong,  and  generally 
brief. 

It  is  a  place  for  the  heart  to  speak,  and  feel- 
ing does  not  use  ornate  and  elaborate  style. 
It  speaks  in  the  simplest  language.  Witness 
the  great  dramatic  scenes  of  literature,  moments 
of  intense  interest  and  feeling,  and  see  how 
short  and  simple  the  words.1  High-sounding 
phrase,  declamation,  should  never  have  place 
in  the  sermon ;  they  are  especially  out  of  place 
in  the  conclusion. 

i  «  Macbeth,"  H,  2;  V,  1. 


206  The   Conclusion 

The  language  will  be  strong.  While  simple, 
the  words  will  be  vivid  and  energetic,  short 
words,  but  pictorial  words,  and  those  con- 
nected with  the  deepest  and  strongest  emotions. 

And  the  conclusion  will  be  brief. 

The  following  satire  on  apologies  in  the  con- 
clusion is  not  out  of  place :  "  When  the  subject 
is  fairly  opened  up,  and  a  few  of  the  younger 
and  more  impatient  hearers  are  beginning  to 
fidget  with  their  hymn-books,  you  cleverly 
introduce  some  phrase  which  proves  that  the 
end  is  in  sight.  'Now,  brethren,  the  remain- 
ing points  may  be  very  briefly  considered ' : 
'Not  to  fatigue  the  attention  of  the  congre- 
gation, let  me  pass  on  at  once  to  the  closing 
scenes  of  Balaam's  history ' ;  '  Time  would 
fail  to  exhaust  the  wealth  of  this  passage,  so 
in  closing  let  me  throw  out  a  few  practical 
lessons  from  the  subject.'  These  few  prac- 
tical lessons  make  a  sermon  in  themselves. 
I  am  never  weary  of  admiring  the  versa- 
tility of  intellect  which  enables  you  to  see 
so  many  lessons  in  a  single  text."1 

I  would  not  make  a  hobby  of  brevity.      The 

application  should  be  so  given  as  to  touch  the 

various  minds  and  conditions  of  the  audience, 

and  to  this  end  something  of  fulness  may  be 

1  "The  Clerical  Life,"  p.  60. 


The   Conclusion  207 

demanded  :  the  repetition  of  the  same  lesson  in 
different  light. 

But  not  a  word  more  than  needed  should 
be  given.  It  is  better  to  err  on  the  side  of 
brevity.  The  truth  is  hurt  by  needless  exhor- 
tation. When  the  duty  is  properly  enforced, 
the  motive  clearly  displayed,  leave  the  soul 
alone  with  its  God.  Any  further  words  may 
destroy  the  impression  already  made.  Happy 
the  man  who  knows  when  to  stop ;  who  stops 
when  he  gets  through. 

It  is  said  of  McCheyne  :  "  His  rule  was  to 
set  before  his  hearers  a  body  of  truth  first,  and 
then  urge  home  the  application.  His  exhorta- 
tions flowed  from  his  doctrine,  and  thus  had 
both  variety  and  power.  Appeals  to  the  care- 
less come  with  power  upon  the  back  of  some 
massy  truth." 


LECTUEE   X 
EXPLANATION 


OUTLINE 

It  has  to  do  with  text,  facts,  and  ideas,  as  they  may  be  used 
in  any  part  of  the  sermon. 

i.  The  text:  explanation  by  exposition. 

a  The  words  may  need  explanation  for  clearness.  Exege- 
sis may  put  truths  in  new  light. 

6  Familiar  texts  may  gain  fresh  force  and  beauty. 

c  Explanation  should  be  positive,  and  yet  with  no  show 
of  authority.  Results  rather  than  processes  are 
demanded.    Explanation  should  strengthen  faith. 

2.  Facts  of  character,  nature,  and  history:    explanation  by 

narration  and  description. 
a  Narration.    In  a  sermon  it  should  be  more  than  a  recital. 

1.  Narration  is  a  part  of  exegesis,  when  it  gives  the  set- 

ting of  events  and  characters. 

2.  In  the  use  of  history  and  experience.    The  well-known 

fact  in  few  lines.  The  unknown  in  details  enough 
for  vividness. 

3.  Some  sermons  largely  narrative.    The  secret  of  nar- 

rative is  movement. 
b  Description. 

1.  A  part  of  exegesis,  when  the  text  is  embedded  in  a 

scene  or  character.  The  land  and  the  book  are 
inseparable. 

2.  It  performs  its  most  difficult  and  effective  service 

in  the  analysis  of  character.  Truth  is  seen  in  life. 
Description  and  narration  must  simply  serve  the 
truth. 

3.  Ideas:  explanation  by  definition. 

Texts  and  facts  are  to  give  ideas.    Our  work  is  to  set  forth 
ideas.    Hence  we  must  have  them  sharply  defined. 

a  Definition  marks  out  the  limit  of  the  idea.    It  is  ana- 
lytic and  aims  to  let  us  know.    Judgment  is  synthetic 
and  aims  to  make  us  appreciate. 
6  Definitions  are  direct  and  indirect. 

1.  Direct.    Simple  and  combined.    The  simple  presents 

nothing  more  nor  less  than  is  contained  in  the  idea. 
The  combined  throws  light  upon  the  idea  by  com- 
parison or  antithesis. 

2.  Indirect.    Translates  the  idea  into  facts,  so  that  we 

may  relate  or  describe  the  idea.  The  oratorical 
form. 

References  : 

Broadus.    "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."   pp.  143, 157. 
Pattison.    "  The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    14. 

210 


LECTURE   X 

EXPLANATION 

The  sermon  thus  far  has  been  treated  as  a 
structure  or  growth,  tracing  it  from  its  begin- 
ning in  the  text,  through  the  different  parts 
of  its  structural  development.  Incidentally 
much  has  been  said  about  the  materials  of 
the  sermon  and  the  proper  way  to  use  them. 
It  is  well  to  fix  the  thought  now  upon  the 
materials  of  the  sermon  —  that  which  will  make 
up  the  body  of  the  discourse. 

It  may  be  thought  that  the  materials  should 
come  first,  and  in  the  making  of  the  sermon 
this  will  be  the  case.  But  the  student  can 
better  judge  of  the  materials  of  the  sermon  and 
their  right  use  after  he  has  in  mind  the  idea  of 
the  sermon  as  a  whole. 

The  materials  of  the  sermon  are  explanation, 
argument,  illustration,  and  persuasion.     They 
are  not  wholly  distinct  elements.     An  illustra- 
tion may  have   the  force   of   explanation   and 
211 


212  Explanation 

argument,  and  the  element  of  persuasion  may 
be  generally  pervasive.  Yet  for  our  purpose 
we  may  speak  of  these  materials  as  distinct. 

Explanation  has  to  do  with  the  text,  facts, 
and  ideas  of  the  sermon. 

Explanation  may  belong  to  the  introduction 
of  the  sermon,  but  it  is  here  used  in  a  wider 
sense  as  belonging  to  the  body  of  the  ser- 
mon. 

The  Text :  Explanation  by  Exposition.  —  The 
text  may  need  explanation  for  clearness.  It 
may  have  words  not  intelligible  to  the  average 
audience,  or  that  by  long  use  have  wrong 
senses  attached  to  them.  Going  to  the  root 
of  the  word,  showing  its  original  meaning  and 
coloring,  may  throw  new  light  upon  the  Scrip- 
ture and  suggest  the  richest  materials  for 
sermons. 

The  text  may  be  familiar  and  so  make  no 
proper  impression  upon  the  hearers.  Then 
there  is  special  need  of  an  exegesis  that  shall 
give  it  fresh  force  and  beauty,  and  give  the 
truth  in  its  original  importance.  Exegesis  is 
not  a  dry  matter;  it  ever  aims  like  the  work 
of  the  poet  and  all  high  art  to  get  the  first  im- 
pressions of  life,  to  put  truth  in  the  pictorial 
way.      The    conventional    use   of   Matt.    v.  8 


Explanation  213 

makes  it  refer  to  a  chaste  heart;  but  a  true 
explanation  makes  the  pure  heart  to  mean  the 
singleness  of  purpose,  equivalent  to  the  "  sin- 
gle eye"  and  "seeking  first  the  Kingdom." 

We  must  remember  that  the  purpose  of  such 
explanation  is  not  mere  exegesis,  but  always 
controlled  by  the  homiletic  spirit  for  instruc- 
tion and  persuasion.  So  the  explanation  should 
be  positive,  never  leaving  a  doubtful  impression, 
not  giving  different  theories,  but  that  which 
study  and  judgment  decides  to  be  the  best. 
The  finished  product  should  be  brought  to  the 
sermon,  not  the  chips  of  the  workshop.  We 
must  do  this  in  a  simple  manner  with  no  show 
of  authorities.  "We  must  therefore  take  into 
the  pulpit  only  so  much  of  our  exegetical  work 
as  is  absolutely  necessary  to  set  the  truth  of 
the  text  in  the  strongest  light.  Results  rather 
than  processes  of  exegesis  are  all  that  is 
demanded." 

At  this  point  it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  the 
cautions  of  Dr.  Broadus :  Do  not  attempt  to 
explain  what  is  not  assuredly  true.  Be  sure 
of  your  exegesis.  Do  not  attempt  to  explain 
what  you  do  not  understand.  Do  not  attempt 
to  explain  what  cannot  be  explained.  Do  not 
attempt  to  explain  what  does  not  need  to  be 
explained. 


214  Explanation 

Explanation  of  facts,  both  of  the  inner  and 
outer  world,  of  character,  and  of  nature  and 
history. 

This  is  of  two  kinds,  —  narration  and  de- 
scription. 

Narration  in  a  sermon  should  be  more  than 
recital :  rather  the  choice  and  use  of  only  such 
incidents  as  will  establish  and  illustrate  the 
truth. 

Narration  is  a  part  of  exegesis  when  exege- 
sis goes  beyond  the  terminology  of  the  text, 
and  touches  the  setting  of  events  and  char- 
acters. 

We  must  narrate  whenever  we  use  any  inci- 
dent of  sacred  or  secular  history  or  of  common 
experience.  If  the  fact  is  well  known,  give  it 
in  a  few  graphic  lines;  if  unknown,  spare  no 
pains  to  make  it  vivid  and  lifelike. 

Some  texts  call  for  a  narrative  treatment 
throughout.  Such  sermons,  largely  historical, 
are  hard  to  lift  out  of  monotony  and  make  of 
living  interest. 

Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor's  serial  sermons  are  good 
examples  of  the  difficulty  and  excellence  of  the 
narrative.  It  requires  his  versatile  mind,  and 
rich  scholarship,  and  deep  earnestness,  to  give 
it  life.  The  secret  of  narrative  is  movement. 
Here  is  all  the  difference  between  a  dull  and 


Explanation  215 

racy  story-teller.  "  Narration  must  be  strictly 
kept  to  the  truth  which  it  is  the  design  of  the 
sermon  to  enforce.  We  must  not  narrate  for 
the  sake  of  so  doing ;  however  interesting  a 
fact  may  be  which  is  involved  in  the  narration 
of  an  event,  if  it  does  not  bear  directly  upon 
the  preacher's  object,  it  should  be  rejected. " 

Description.  —  Description,  like  narration, 
must  often  be  used  in  exegesis.  Truth  is 
embedded  in  a  natural  scene  or  in  a  character ; 
and  the  man  who  has  the  power  to  bring  the 
scene  before  the  eye,  reproducing  the  charac- 
teristic features  of  Bible  lands  and  persons, 
has  the  power  of  taking  truth  out  of  dead 
parchments  and  making  it  the  voice  of  a  living 
God.  Preaching  Christ  is  making  Him  live 
again  before  the  eyes  of  men.  The  Land  and 
the  Book  are  inseparable.  Ole  Bull  was  once 
asked,  "  What  made  you  a  violinist?  "  —  "  The 
mountains  of  Norway,"  was  the  answer.  The 
Land  has  colored  the  Book.  And  a  minister 
does  well  to  make  himself  familiar  with  the 
helps  to  the  accurate  and  vivid  understanding 
of  the  lands  and  peoples  of  the  East.  And  in 
passing  it  should  be  said  that  whatever  gives 
form  and  color  to  our  ideas,  cultivates  the 
imagination,  has  the  most  practical  bearing  on 
the  power  of  description.     Here  language  may 


216  Explanation 

approach  nearest  the  representative  work  of 
painting  and  sculpture. 

Take  an  example  from  Stanley's  "  History  of 
the  Eastern  Church,"1  the  scene  of  Elijah  at 
Horeb,  for  a  union  of  accurate  scholarship  and 
pictorial  power. 

Description  performs  its  most  difficult  and 
effective  service  in  giving  the  effects  of  virtue 
or  vice  in  the  individual  and  in  society.  Truth 
must  be  seen  in  action.  The  description  of 
character,  of  scenes,  of  actions  as  we  find  them 
in  men,  is  the  most  powerful  presentation  of 
truth.  It  takes  it  entirely  away  from  the 
abstract  and  gives  it  reality.  The  future  is 
seen  in  the  instant.  The  preacher  must  so 
present  the  secret  motions  of  the  heart  that 
men  shall  recognize  themselves ;  so  picture  the 
tendencies  and  inevitable  outcome  of  life  that 
the  illusion  of  sin  shall  be  broken.  Dr.  M.  R. 
Vincent  presents  an  example  of  such  descrip- 
tion in  the  sermon,  "  Does  it  Pay  ?  "  from  "  God 
and  Bread"  (p.  32).  "There  is  a  life  going 
on  in  certain  circles  in  this  city  which  veils 
itself  under  social  proprieties  and  elegancies, 
but  which  is  aptly  described  by  the  term  4  fast ' 
—  a  continuous  whirl  of  feasting  and  spectacles 
and  carnivals,  which  is  undermining  some  of 
i  Vol.  II,  p.  339. 


Explanation  2Y1 

the  brightest  youthful  promise,  and  blighting 
some  of  the  best  young  manhood  and  woman- 
hood of  this  city.  Do  you  know  what  the  end 
of  that  will  be  ?  Some  of  you  have  seen  Cou- 
ture's  great  picture,  'The  Decadence  of  the 
Romans,'  in  the  gallery  of  the  Luxembourg 
at  Paris  —  a  picture  of  a  luxurious  hall,  where 
a  frenzied  orgie  is  at  its  height,  a  carnival 
of  drunkenness  and  wantonness.  A  drunken 
youth,  with  a  wreath  in  his  tangled  hair,  sits 
upon  a  pedestal,  while  a  reeling  boy  proffers 
a  dripping  goblet  to  the  marble  mouth  of  a 
statue.  The  old  Roman  dignity  is  gone  from 
the  brutalized  faces  of  the  revellers,  which 
contrast  sadly  with  the  noble  features  of  the 
statues  of  the  old  Roman  worthies  ranged 
round  the  hall,  and  with  the  sad  faces  of  a 
group  of  thoughtful-looking  men  who  are 
quitting  the  scene.  And  what  is  perhaps  as 
significant  as  any  other  feature  is,  that  the 
faces  of  this  picture  present  a  surprising  like- 
ness to  faces  which  one  sees  every  day  in  the 
streets  of  Paris,  and  that  the  models  for  this 
wreck  of  human  nature  are  furnished  by  the 
painter's  own  city.  It  is  a  truth  not  told  by 
Paris  only.  It  has  been  told  over  and  over 
again,  as  one  city  after  another  —  Antioch, 
Corinth,   Rome,  Sybaris  —  has  gone   over  the 


218  Explanation 

precipice.  It  is  the  story  of  the  inevitable  end 
of  fast  life  and  of  fast  society.  You  buy  a 
dangerous  thing  when  you  buy  the  world." 

"Painting  a  scene  for  its  own  sake  is  the 
work  of  an  artist  rather  than  an  orator.  De- 
scription like  narration  must  simply  serve  the 
truth  ;  whenever  it  steps  beyond  this,  it  be- 
comes a  pulpit  pest.  Mere  word-painting  is 
out  of  place  in  the  pulpit." 

The  spiritual  character  of  the  preacher  as 
well  as  his  artistic  sense  reveals  itself  in  the 
work  of  narration  and  description.  A  lowly 
spirit  alone  will  save  a  man  from  the  vice  of 
pictorial  self-indulgence. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  that  it  is  impossible  to 
keep  narration  and  description  entirely  separate. 
The  elements  will  more  or  less  mingle.  Narra- 
tion has  more  movement,  and  description  more 
vividness. 

Ideas :  Explanation  by  Definition. — The  facts 
and  persons  of  the  Bible  are  to  give  us  ideas. 
And  our  great  work  as  preachers  is  to  set  forth 
these  ideas  in  their  relations  and  applications. 
In  order  to  do  this  we  must  have  these  ideas 
sharply  denned  in  our  own  minds  and  then 
clearly  define  them  to  others.  Hence  the  im- 
portance of  definition  in  the  sermon.     A  man's 


Explanation  219 

success  in  proof  will  depend  largely  upon  his 
clearness  of  definition.  We  often  see  this  in 
popular  discussions.  If  men  would  only  define 
their  terms,  violent  opponents  would  often  find 
themselves  near  together.  The  audience  will 
not  see  truth  as  we  see  it  unless  we  define. 
The  truths  of  religion  cannot  all  be  brought 
under  human  definition,  but  the  difference  as 
to  the  commonest  doctrines  of  Christianity 
would  be  greatly  lessened  if  men  should  attempt 
a  clear  and  rational  statement  of  the  truth. 

Definition,  as  the  word  indicates,  marks  out 
the  limits  of  the  idea.  It  does  this  to  escape 
confusion  with  other,  and  often  closely  related, 
ideas,  to  make  known  the  essential  elements  of 
the  idea. 

And  here  we  ought  to  distinguish  between  a 
definition  and  a  judgment.  "  Definition  is  ana- 
lytic ;  judgment  is  synthetic.  Definition  de- 
composes an  object ;  judgment  composes  or 
adds  to  the  notion  of  an  object  that  of  some 
quality."1  A  judgment  gives  to  an  idea 
something  not  directly  implied  in  it,  and 
thus  increases  our  knowledge.  Definition  aims 
to  make  us  know  ;  judgment  to  appreciate. 
"Faith  is  not  conceiving  of  God  as  an  idea, 
but  it  is  laying  hold  of  Him  as  a  power  and 
i  Vinet. 


220  Explanation 

utilizing  Him  to  the  ends  of  holy  living  and 
Christian  achieving,"  is  a  definition  as  it  gives 
us  a  true  idea  of  faith.  "  By  faith  we  acquire 
a  property  in  power  that  to  our  unfaith  lies  at 
an  utter  remove  from  us,"  is  a  judgment  that 
increases  our  appreciation  of  the  uses  of  faith. 

Definitions  are  direct  and  indirect. 

A  direct  definition  is  when  the  idea  is  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  other  ideas.  It  may  be 
said  to  present  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
what  is  contained  in  the  idea.  The  definition 
is  simple  when  it  contains  the  single  idea. 
"The  world  is  human  society  ruled  by  sin." 
It  is  combined  when  the  knowledge  is  gained 
by  comparison  with  other  ideas.  "  The  world 
is  neither  the  whole  of  humanity,  nor  the  order 
of  the  creation,  nor  the  tumult  of  society,  but 
the  sum  of  human  evil." 

The  direct  or  abstract  definition,  an  idea  in 
the  terms  of  ideas,  is  not  vivid  enough  for 
many  minds,  and  so  the  indirect  must  be 
used. 

It  translates  the  idea  into  facts,  so  that  the 
idea  may  be  related  or  described  as  we  do  facts. 
It  gives  to  the  idea  concrete  form.  "  Faith  is 
the  telescope  of  the  soul."  "Experience  is  the 
soil  out  of  which  all  creed  grows."  Examples 
are  the  most  effective  definitions,  as  in  the  hero 


Explanation  221 

roll  of  the  ancient  Church,  the  eleventh  of 
Hebrews.  The  simple,  direct  definition  must 
often  be  used  and  may  be  enough  for  thought- 
ful men  ;  but  the  more  oratorical  form  is  the 
indirect  that  throws  light  upon  the  idea  by 
comparison  or  antithesis  or  example,  using  the 
common  experience  of  men  as  a  torch  to  light 
up  the  unknown  and  spiritual. 

All  effective  preachers  have  the  power  of 
lucid  definition.  Sometimes  a  cumulation  of 
definitions  forms  the  strongest  climax.  Notice 
the  following  from  a  sermon  of  Dr.  W.  E. 
Channing  : 

"  Sin  is  voluntary  wrongdoing.  Any  grati- 
fication injurious  to  ourselves  is  sin.  Any  act 
injurious  to  our  neighbors  is  sin.  Indifference 
to  our  Creator  is  sin.  The  transgression  of 
any  command  which  this  excellent  Being  and 
rightful  Sovereign  has  given  us,  whether  by 
conscience  or  revelation,  is  sin.  So  broad  is 
this  term.  It  is  as  extensive  as  duty.  It  is 
not  some  mysterious  thing  wrought  into  our 
souls  at  birth.  It  is  not  a  theological  subtilty. 
It  is  choosing  and  acting  in  opposition  to  our 
sense  of  right,  to  known  obligation." 


LECTURE   XI 

ARGUMENT 


OUTLINE 

1.  Some  truths  must  generally  be  assumed.  God  and  the 
soul.  Christ  rarely  reasons  about  them.  We  are  to  create 
a  personal  sense  of  God,  to  illustrate  the'Divine  Nature. 

2.  Hence,  the  limit  of  argument.  Truth  is  not  always  served 
by  the  formal  processes  of  logic.  The  illustration,  the  ex- 
planation of  Scripture,  the  analysis  of  personal  experience 
may  be  better. 

3.  The  positive  uses  of  argument. 

a  To  prove  the  truth.  The  reason  demands  truth,  and 
Christianity  recognizes  the  demand.  We  must  not 
take  facts  and  truths  for  granted  that  need  proof. 
We  should  not  fear  investigation. 

6  To"  multiply  the  brightness  of  truth."  Argument  for 
the  instruction  and  growth  of  the  Church. 

4.  The  force  of  argument  in  starting  from  admitted  truth. 
Primary  and  necessary  convictions  of  the  soul,  well  attested 
facts,  matters  of  common  experience  —  these  the  starting 
points.  The  preacher  must  start  with  the  audience.  The 
force  of  arguments  from  experience.  Need  of  the  induc- 
tive study  of  man. 

5.  The  changed  emphasis  in  argument.  We  must  not  put  our 
truth  upon  insufficient  basis.  The  sin  of  resting  faith  upon 
speculative  theory. 

6.  Hints  as  to  method. 

a  Reason  may  be  pure  and  yet  not  convincing.  We  may 
prove  too  much  and  lose  the  sense  of  reality. 

6  Prefer  the  short  road  in  argument.  Reasoning  may 
grow  tedious  and  defeat  its  end. 

c   Prefer  the  effective  argument. 

7.  Refutation. 

a  Positive  teaching  often  the  best  refutation  of  error. 

Refutation  should  not  be  used  without  clear  demand. 

Errors  may  often  be  met  incidentally. 
6  We  must  not  ignore  refutation.    It  supplements  the 

truth.    We  must  be  sincere.     Sincerity  demands: 

(1)  The  accurate  statement  of  objections;   (2)  the 

meeting  of  objections  with  the  sole  desire  for  truth ; 

(3)  we  are  to  seek  to  turn  the  objection  into  proof. 

Errors  are  often  half-truths. 

References  : 

Broadus.  "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Sermon." 

pp.  158-213. 
Phelps.    "  My  Note-Book,  the  Materials  of  Sermons." 
Pattison.    "  The  Making  of  the  Sermon.."    15, 16. 

224 


LECTURE   XI 

ARGUMENT 

It  is  not  the  purpose  in  this  chapter  to 
specify  and  explain  the  different  kinds  and 
forms  of  argument,  but  to  touch  the  general 
principles  of  reasoning  and  suggest  some  prac- 
tical points  as  to  their  use. 

And  in  the  start  we  must  know  that  some 
truths  —  and  those  the  greatest  —  must  gener- 
ally be  assumed.  God  and  the  soul  to  some 
minds  may  be  proved,  but  they  pass  beyond 
the  reach  of  human  lines  of  reason,  and  often 
the  attempt  to  establish  these  fundamental 
facts  gives  the  impression  of  uncertainty  in 
minds  that  never  doubted  before.  It  is  sig- 
nificant that  Christ  never  reasons  with  His 
audiences  about  the  soul.  He  simply  speaks 
to  the  soul  and  the  soul  hears  His  voice. 

And  so  about  God.     We  are  not  to  argue 

about  God,  but  create  a  personal  sense  of  God. 

"  I  doubt  whether  any  man  will  ever  be  won 

from   scepticism    by   having   the   existence   of 

q  225 


226  Argument 

God  proved  to  him,"  says  Beecher.  "  Our  chief 
work  in  this  direction  will  be  to  illustrate  the 
Divine  Nature.  There  is  no  use  in  demon- 
strating to  men  that  there  is  music  in  one  of 
Mozart's  or  Beethoven's  symphonies.  Play  it, 
and  I  will  defy  them  to  get  rid  of  saying  that 
there  is  music  in  it.  They  recognize  it  at 
once."  1 

Hence  the  limit  of  argument. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  have  reasoning  the  con- 
stant substance  of  the  sermon.  Truth  is  not 
always  served  by  formal  processes  of  logic.  It 
is  often  best  to  hold  up  truth  before  the  mind. 
The  illustration,  the  explanation  of  Scripture, 
the  analysis  of  personal  experience,  may  do  this 
so  vividly  that  the  soul  may  safely  be  left  to 
its  own  reasoning. 

Having  suggested  what  argument  cannot  do, 
ai^J.  is  not  to  attempt,  we  come  to  the  positive 
uses  of  reasoning  in  the  sermon. 

It  is  to  prove  truth.  The  reason  of  man 
demands  proof,  especially  for  truths  and  doc- 
trines that  make  such  absolute  claim  upon 
conduct.  And  the  Bible  everywhere  recognizes 
the  reasonableness  of  the  demand.  Reason  is 
the   basis    of    conviction:    without    conviction 

1  "  Lectures,"  3d  series,  p.  69. 


Argument  227 

there  can  be  no  call  of  duty.  An  appeal  is 
worthless  that  has  not  back  of  it  a  solid  body 
of  admitted  truth.  We  must  often  lay  this 
foundation  in  argument. 

In  our  sermons  we  often  take  certain  facts 
of  Scripture  or  truths  derived  from  them  for 
granted,  when  in  the  minds  before  us  there 
may  be  uncertainty  or  even  denial.  And  so  all 
our  processes  are  profitless.  Every  word  be- 
yond that  which  fails  to  carry  conviction  to 
the  reason  is  but  "breath  in  the  wind."  We 
must  not  be  impatient  with  men  or  with  these 
rational  processes.  It  is  a  sin  for  the  pulpit  to 
neglect  or  do  violence  to  the  reason.  We 
should  be  willing  to  reexamine  the  foundations 
that  to  us  are  strong.  The  great  facts  of  Scrip- 
ture all  demand  proof,  all  welcome  investiga- 
tion. And  argument  can  be  made,  not  in  the 
spirit  of  authority,  compelling  the  mind,  but  in 
the  spirit  of  sympathy,  to  enlighten;  not  in 
the  spirit  of  uncertainty,  but  in  the  humble 
confidence  of  one  whose  feet  had  felt  the 
foundation. 

A  second  use  of  reasoning  is  to  "  multiply 
the  brightness  of  truth."  Faith  needs  to  be 
enlightened  ;  conviction  deepened.  "  Many 
wise  men  have  to  spend  their  time  in  correct- 
ing the  mistakes  of  other  good  men  who  are 


228  Argument 

not  wise."  It  is  not  enough  to  show  the  prob- 
ability of  truth,  but  the  fulness  and  glory 
of  it. 

And  here  argument,  that  would  have  no  force 
for  an  unbelieving  mind,  may  be  used  for  the 
instruction  of  the  Church  further  to  establish 
in  grace.  The  argument  of  Scripture,  the  tes- 
timony of  history,  the  witness  of  Christian 
experience,  the  analogies  of  the  natural  world 
together,  show  the  unity  and  many-sidedness  of 
truth.  It  is  the  special  distinction  of  Phillips 
Brooks  that  he  exhibits  the  privilege  and  glory 
of  the  Christian  life. 

The  force  of  all  reasoning,  whatever  be  its 
logical  form,  is  in  starting  with  some  form  of 
admitted  truth.  Primary  and  necessary  convic- 
tions of  the  soul,  well-attested  facts,  matters  of 
common  experience,  these  are  the  starting 
points.  The  preacher  must  put  himself  upon 
the  same  ground  as  his  audience  if  he  is  ever 
to  lift  them  to  higher  ground.  It  was  said  of 
Charles  Kingsley  that  he  tried  to  catch  men 
by  their  leading  ideas  and  insensibly  led  them 
to  his  leading  idea,  to  bring  the  conscious  life 
of  God  to  them  through  the  Gospel.  He  must 
start  with  them  if  he  is  to  lead  them  into  larger 
fields  of  truth.     And  he  must  not  go  too  fast 


Argument  229 

for  his  hearers,  must  not  get  beyond  the  sight  of 
their  reason,  or  he  will  be  compelled  to  make 
a  lonely  journey. 

It  will  be  well  for  us  to  draw  a  large  part 
of  our  argument  from  experience  —  from  the 
thorough  study  of  human  nature.  We  are  to 
be  pathologists  of  the  soul.  Next  to  the  in- 
ductive study  of  the  Bible,  what  is  most  needed 
by  the  pulpit  is  an  inductive  study  of  man. 
The  ministers  who  refuse  to  live  in  speculative 
theories,  but  come  close  to  the  homes  and  haunts 
of  men,  who  know  what  men  are  thinking 
about,  who  are  used  to  their  methods  of  reason- 
ing, are  the  masters  of  a  convincing  logic.  Mr. 
Beecher  bears  witness  to  the  force  of  such 
reasoning  :  "  When  I  had  lived  at  Indianapolis 
the  first  year,  I  said,  There  was  a  reason  why 
when  the  Apostles  preached  they  succeeded, 
and  I  will  find  it  out  if  it  is  to  be  found  out.  I 
took  every  single  instance  in  the  record,  when  I 
could  find  one  of  their  sermons,  and  analyzed 
it  and  asked  myself:  What  were  the  circum- 
stances ?  Who  were  the  people  ?  What  did  he 
do  ?  And  I  studied  the  sermons  until  I  got  this 
idea  :  that  the  Apostles  were  accustomed  first 
to  feel  for  a  ground  on  which  the  people  and 
they  stood  together  ;  a  common  ground  where 
they  could  meet.     Then  they  heaped  up  a  large 


230  Argument 

number  of  the  particulars  of  knowledge  that 
belonged  to  everybody;  and  when  they  had  got 
that  knowledge  which  everybody  would  admit 
placed  in  a  proper  form  before  their  minds, 
then  they  brought  it  to  bear  upon  them  with 
all  their  excited  heart  and  feeling. 

"  Now,  said  I,  I  will  make  a  sermon  so :  first, 
I  sketched  out  the  things  we  all  know.  You 
all  know  you  are  living  in  a  world  perishing 
under  your  feet.  You  all  know  that  time  is 
extremely  uncertain;  that  you  cannot  tell 
whether  you  will  live  another  month  or  week. 
You  all  know  that  your  destiny,  in  the  life  that 
is  to  come,  depends  upon  the  character  that 
you  are  forming  in  this  life  ;  and  in  that  way 
I  went  on  with  my  —  You  all  knows.  When  I 
had  got  through  that,  I  turned  round  and 
brought  it  to  bear  upon  them  with  all  my 
might ;  and  there  were  seventeen  men  awa- 
kened under  that  sermon.  I  never  felt  so  tri- 
umphant in  my  life.  I  cried  all  the  way  home. 
I  said  to  myself,  Now  I  know  how  to  preach." 1 

The  minister  must  remember  that  old  argu- 
ments may  lose  their  force,  and  new  methods 
may  be  demanded,  or  at  least  a  different  plac- 
ing of  the  emphasis.     Our  audiences  may  know 
1  "Lectures,"  1st  series,  pp.  11-12. 


Argument  231 

little  about  Biblical  criticism,  but  we  cannot 
afford  to  be  ignorant  of  its  principles  and  con- 
clusions and  put  our  structure  of  truth  upon 
an  insufficient  basis  when  we  have  the  sure 
foundation  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  supreme 
folly  for  the  preacher  to  place  the  authority 
of  the  Bible  upon  his  theory  of  it.  John  Wes- 
ley allied  the  authority  of  the  Bible  with  the 
truth  of  witchcraft.  And  an  eminent  modern 
preacher  has  declared  that  if  Christ  made  wine, 
He  was  not  a  good  man. 

Our  audiences  may  not  know  that  Paley's 
watchspring  is  no  longer  sufficient  argument; 
but  we  are  not  to  live  in  the  books  of  a  cen- 
tury ago,  and  set  up  and  knock  down  our 
knight  of  straw.  For  we  may  depend  upon  it 
that  any  theories  of  man  and  nature,  God 
and  duty,  will  work  their  way  into  the  common 
thought  of  men,  and  color  and  affect  all  life, 
though  men  may  never  have  heard  of  the  phi- 
losophies that  are  their  source. 

"  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  accredit  the 
Christian  revelation  in  bulk  by  the  miracles, 
and  to  prove  the  miracles  by  a  mere  trial  of 
the  witnesses.  Apologetics  is  confronted  by  a 
much  more  serious  and  difficult  situation.  The 
proof  of  the  authenticity  and  credibility  of  the 
spiritual  books  has  become  a  complicated,  deli- 


232  Argument 

cate,  and  arduous  task,  testing  all  the  resources 
of  literary  criticism.  The  centre  of  the  histori- 
cal evidence  is  shifted  from  the  miracles  to  the 
person  of  Christ.  The  contents  of  the  Chris- 
tian revelation,  instead  of  being  the  thing  to  be 
proved,  have  become  an  element  in  the  proof. 
The  ethnic  religions  can  no  longer  be  passed 
by  with  contempt ;  but  their  relation  to  Chris- 
tianity and  the  distinguishing  features  of  the 
latter  as  the  religion  of  redemption  through 
Christ  must  be  clear.  It  does  not  meet  the 
demand  of  the  time  to  prove  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity as  a  mere  system  of  doctrine :  what 
men  need  most  to  know  is  that  it  is  the  living, 
present,  perennial  power  of  God  by  which  He 
is  redeeming  the  sinful  world."1 

We  may  remember  that  the  reasoning  may 
be  pure  and  yet  not  convincing.  "Pure  rea- 
soning is  the  geometry  of  space. "  We  may  prove 
too  much  and  lose  the  sense  of  reality.  We 
are  to  trust  the  soul  and  not  mere  logic. 

We  are  to  prefer  the  short  road  in  argument : 
not  to  argue  but  to  convince.  A  long  and  un- 
broken course  of  reasoning  may  grow  tedious 
and  defeat  its  very  end. 

"  You  do  not  want  an  argument  for  the  sake 
of  an  argument.  You  do  not  want  a  sermon 
1  Stearns,  "The  Evidence  of  Christian  Experience,"  p.  17. 


Argument  233 

that  is  as  perfect  a  machine  as  a  machine  can 
be,  unless  it  does  something.  You  want  the 
people,  and  the  shortest  and  surest  way  to  get 
them  is  the  best.  When  you  are  preaching  a 
sermon  that  has  been  prepared  with  a  great 
deal  of  care,  and  you  are  laying  down  the  truth 
with  forcible  arguments,  you  will  often  find 
that  you  are  losing  your  hold  on  the  attention 
of  your  people  by  continuing  in  that  direction. 
But  coming  to  a  fortunate  point,  strike  out  an 
illustration  which  arouses  and  interests  them, 
leave  the  track  of  your  argument,  and  never 
mind  what  becomes  of  your  elaborate  sermon, 
and  you  will  see  the  heavy  and  uninterested 
eyes  lighting  up  again.  But,  you  say,  that  will 
make  my  sermon  unsymmetrical.  Well,  were 
you  called  to  preach  for  the  salvation  of  ser- 
mons ?  Just  follow  the  stream,  and  use  the 
bait  they  are  biting  at,  and  take  no  heed  of 
your  sermon. 

"  You  will  find  it  almost  impossible  to  carry 
forward  the  demonstration  of  a  truth  in  one 
straight  course  and  yet  make  it  real  to  a  gen- 
eral audience.  i^You  must  vary  your  method 
constantly,  and  at  the  same  time  through  it 
all  you  can  carry  the  burden  of  your  discourse 
so  that  it  shall  be  made  clear  to  the  whole  of 
your  audience.     An  argument  may  as  well  go 


234  Argument 

forward  by  illustration  as    by  abstract  state- 
ment ;  sometimes  it  will  go  better."  1 

We  are  to  prefer  the  popular  argument — not 
to  show  our  skill  but  to  convince.  "  Eloquence 
is  the  power  to  make  the  primitive  chords  of 
the  soul  vibrate  within  us." 

Refutation.  —  The  sermon  calls  for  positive 
proof,  not  mere  negative  refutation.  Error  is 
best  refuted  by  teaching  the  truth.  The  en- 
trance of  light  dispels  the  darkness.  Refuta- 
tion should  not  be  used  without  a  clear  demand. 
Dr.  Henson  has  told  the  story  of  his  refutation 
of  Mr.  Tyndal's  prayer  test.  At  the  end  of 
the  third  sermon,  a  distinguished  business  man 
said  to  him,  "  Parson,  do  you  know  that  many 
of  the  business  men  don't  care  a  fig  for  the 
man  Tyndal  you  are  fighting." 

Errors  and  objections  may  be  met  inci- 
dentally, without  special  and  open  reference 
to  them.  Among  the  things  that  Dr.  Cuyler 
thanks  God  for  is  that  he  never  preached 
against  "Robert  Elsmere." 

The  practical  and   speculative  errors  of  the 

day  were   effectively  met   in    the    sermons  of 

Canon    Liddon,  not  by  specific  reference  and 

refutation,  but  by  the  positive  truths  that  stood 

1  Beecher,  "Lectures,"  1st  series,  p.  165. 


Argument  235 

over  against  them.  The  timeliness  and  method 
of  discussion  made  the  strength  of  the  refuta- 
tion. 

Yet  we  cannot  ignore  refutation.  It  can 
often  be  used  as  a  supplement  to  truth.  We 
must  adapt  ourselves  to  the  weaknesses  of  men. 
We  shall  often  fail  if  we  have  no  regard  to  the 
contradicter  in  the  soul. 

In  refutation,  above  everything  we  should 
be  sincere.  The  privilege  that  the  minister  has 
of  speaking  without  immediate  reply  may  be 
injurious.  The  effects  are  too  often  seen  in 
carelessness  and  dogmatism.  "Sire,  I  cannot 
go  to  hear  a  man  who  says  whatever  he  pleases, 
and  to  whom  no  one  has  the  liberty  of  reply- 
ing," were  the  words  of  Prince  de  Vendome  to 
Louis  XIV. 

Free  from  open  contradiction,  we  should 
treat  ourselves  with  all  the  more  rigor.  We 
have  all  felt  the  partial  statements  in  the  pul- 
pit, the  appeals  to  popular  prejudice. 

What  does  sincerity  demand  ?  Sincerity 
means  such  a  respect  for  the  honesty  of  op- 
ponents, that  we  shall  try  to  give  an  accurate 
statement  of  their  views,  treat  their  objections 
seriously,  not  with  scorn,  neither  exaggerate 
nor  underestimate,  but  speak  as  those  who 
have   a   sympathetic  understanding  by  trying 


236  Argument 

to  put  one's  self  for  the  moment  in  their  place. 
Such  a  spirit  of  charity  and  fairness  always 
commends  the  truth.  It  is  the  scientific  spirit 
which  should  be  more  frequently  followed  by 
the  pulpit.  An  English  journalist  has  shown 
how  the  character  of  our  Lord  would  fare  if 
treated  in  the  uncharitable  fashion  with  which 
a   preacher  has  dealt  with  a  famous  agnostic. 

Sincerity  demands  that  we  meet  objections 
solely  in  the  spirit  of  truth-seeking,  never  in 
the  zeal  of  party,  eager  for  victory.  We  are 
to  seek  to  turn  the  objection  into  proof,  and 
the  objectors  into  friends.  We  are  familiar 
with  the  statement  that  errors  are  half-truths ; 
at  least  in  nearly  all  errors  there  are  some  germs 
of  truth,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  find  these,  to 
discover  them  to  men,  to  strip  the  false  from 
the  true,  and  like  Paul  at  Athens  show  men 
what   they  ignorantly  worship. 

Even  though  objections  are  wholly  false  and 
objectors  hypocrites,  it  is  far  better  to  take 
their  honesty  for  granted.  Truth  will  thus 
gain  a  keener  edge  to  pierce  the  heart  of 
error. 

"  There  is  often  a  deeper  connection  between 
the  orthodox  theology  and  the  unbelief  of  an 
age  than  a  superficial  view  would  suggest.  Not 
infrequently  the  defects  which  are  exaggerated 


Argument  237 

in  the  latter  exist  in  a  different  form  in  the 
former,  furnishing  at  least  a  partial  justifica- 
tion for  the  heterodox  protest.1 

"I  doubt  much  if  mere  opposition  to  the 
false  is  of  any  benefit.  Convince  a  man  by 
argument  that  the  thing  he  has  been  taught  is 
false,  and  you  leave  his  house  empty,  swept, 
and  garnished ;  but  the  expulsion  of  the  false- 
hood is  no  protection  against  its  reentrance  in 
another  mask  with  seven  worse  than  itself  in 
its  company. 

"  The  right  effort  of  the  teacher  is  to  give  the 
positive,  —  to  present  as  he  may  the  vision  of 
reality,  —  for  the  perception  of  which,  and  not 
for  the  discovery  of  falsehood,  is  man  created. 
This  will  not  only  cast  out  the  demon,  but  so 
people  the  house  that  he  will  not  dare  return. 
If  a  man  might  disprove  all  the  untruths  in 
creation,  he  would  hardly  be  a  hair's  breadth 
nearer  the  end  of  his  own  making.  It  is  better 
to  hold  honestly  one  fragment  of  truth  in  the 
midst  of  immeasurable  error  than  to  sit  alone, 
if  that  were  possible,  in  the  midst  of  an  abso- 
lute vision,  clear  as  the  hyaline,  but  only  re- 
pellent of  falsehood,  not  receptive  of  truth.  It 
is  the  positive  by  which  a  man  shall  live. 
Truth  is  his  life.  The  refusal  of  the  false  is 
1  Stearns,  "  Christian  Experience,"  p.  19. 


238  Argument 

not  the  reception  of  the  true.  A  man  may 
deny  himself  into  a  spiritual  lethargy,  without 
denying  one  truth,  simply  by  spending  his 
strength  for  that  which  is  not  bread,  until  he 
has  none  left  wherewith  to  search  for  the  truth, 
which  alone  can  feed  him.  Only  when  sub- 
jected to  the  positive  does  the  negative  find  its 
true  vocation."1 

1  George  Macdonald,  on  Francis  Quarles,  in  "  England's 
Antiphon." 


LECTURE  XII 
ILLUSTRATION 


OUTLINE 

1.  Importance. 

a  The  use  of  illustrations  in  preaching  demanded  by 
the  mind.  "  Parables  are  more  ancient  than  argu- 
ments." 

b  The  history  of  language  enforces  it.    Words  are  signs. 

c   Nature  and  human  life  rich  in  elements  of  illustration. 

d  The  only  way  to  reach  the  variety  of  natures  and 
needs  of  a  congregation.  The  necessary  repetition 
can  be  kept  from  dulness  by  good  illustration. 

e  The  best  preachers  have  been  masters  of  illustration. 
Example  of  Chalmers,  Guthrie,  Spurgeon,  Robert- 
son, Bushnell,  Beecher,  Brooks. 

2.  The  uses.  Illustrations  make  truths  clear,  forcible,  and 
attractive.  They  aid  memory,  cultivate  ideality,  and  so 
strengthen  the  spiritual  faculty. 

3.  Laws  of  use. 

a  Use  them  only  when  needed.  They  should  be  genuine 
illustrations,  and  not  too  many  for  the  same  truth. 

6  They  should  not  be  unduly  prolonged,  flashes  of  truth, 
not  steady  glow.  At  times  the  elaborate  illustra- 
tion useful,  the  details  of  the  picture. 

c  They  should  be  true  to  life,  the  result  of  careful  obser- 
vation, and  drawn  with  accuracy  and  spirit.  The 
use  of  illustrations  of  personal  experience. 

d  We  should  avoid  learned  illustrations,  and  matters 
not  well  understood.  Homely  ones  are  often  the 
best.    Utility,  not  mere  beauty,  should  be  aimed  at. 

e  Use  variety,  fitted  to  various  minds.  Examples  and 
analogies  for  explanation  rarely  too  many,  but  anec- 
dotes and  ornaments  easily  pall. 

4.  Sources. 

a  Shall  handbooks  of  illustrations  be  used?    Leads  to 

bad  habits  and  inferior  illustrations,  lacking  the 

personal  quality. 
6  Our  study  of  the  Bible,  our  general  reading,  science, 

history,  biography,  literature,  especially  the  higher 

poetry,  our  daily  life  with  men  will  furnish  true 

illustrations.     Child  life  and  literature  a  fertile 

field, 
c   Cultivate  the  power  of  seeing.     The  experience  of 

Beecher.    The  picture  gospel  of  Christ. 
References : 

Beecher.    "  Yale  Lectures."    1st  series,  5,  7. 

Burton.    "Yale  Lectures."    Imagination  in  Minis- 
ters, in  Sermons. 

Paxton-Hood.    "  Lamps,  Pitchers,  and  Trumpets." 
Vol.  I,  8. 

Gowan.    "Preaching  and  Preachers."    3. 

240 


LECTURE   XII 

ILLUSTRATION 

"  Imagination,  no  less  than  reason,  is  God's 
gift.  It  is  the  power  by  which  dulness  or 
baldness  is  avoided.  Now  imagination  is  lack- 
ing in  some  men  ;  it  is  exuberant  in  others. 
If  a  man  has  no  gift  of  imagination,  he  is  just 
the  man  to  cultivate  it.  If  he  says  that  he  has 
not  a  particle  of  imagination,  and  that  there- 
fore there  is  nothing  to  cultivate,  I  venture  to 
disbelieve  him.  He  has  only  to  recall  his  in- 
fant days,  his  delight  in  giant  story  or  fairy 
tale,  or  his  own  day  dreaming,  and  he  will  find 
that  there  is  some  germ  of  imagination  in  him. 
But  should  he  fail,  and  find  no  interest  in 
poetry,  or  parable,  or  romance,  or  allegory,  or 
in  the  arts  that  shed  a  beauty  upon  life,  he  had 
better  abandon  all  thought  of  standing  up  to 
speak  in  pulpit  or  on  platform."1 

Importance  of  Illustration.  —  The  use  of  illus- 
trations  in  preaching  is  in  harmony  with  the 

1  Dr.  Boyd-Carpenter,  Bishop  of  Ripon,  "  Lectures  on 
Preaching,"  p.  64. 

R  241 


242  Illustration 

laws  of  the  human  mind.  Children  love  pic- 
tures, and  men  never  outgrow  that  love.  Truth 
is  made  known  by  object  lessons.  "Parables 
are  more  ancient  than  arguments."  God  has 
adapted  His  revelation  to  this  constitution  of 
the  human  mind.  Redemptive  truths  have 
been  spoken  through  redemptive  acts.  The 
teaching  of  our  day,  studying  more  closely  the 
nature  and  the  need  of  the  child  and  the  youth, 
is  illustrative  in  its  method.  The  mode  by 
which  we  learn  a  new  thing  is  by  its  being  lik- 
ened to  something  which  we  know  already. 

This  truth  is  illustrated  and  enforced  by  the 
history  of  language.  Words  are  signs  of  things. 
Notions  are  taught  by  objects.  Words  in  their 
origin  have  this  highly  pictorial  quality.  Early 
literatures  abound  in  the  imaginative  elements. 
But  this  brightness  of  words  is  gradually  worn 
off  by  use,  or  in  their  stages  of  growth  they  pass 
away  from  the  early  associations.  While  the 
vocabulary  is  ever  increasing,  and  new  words 
start  always  from  the  object,1  many  words  be- 
come commonplace,  are  not  associated  with 
definite  objects,  have  no  atmosphere  of  memory, 
and  so  touch  no  tender  and  sacred  feelings. 

It  is  the  art  of  speech  to  recover  the  lost 
power  of  words,  the  pictorial  quality.  We  aim 
1  See  "  bald  "  in  Miss  Murfree's  stories. 


Illustration  243 

at  this  in  philology,  in  exegesis.  We  dis- 
cover the  word,  we  lay  bare  its  foundations, 
covered  up  by  the  alluvial  of  the  centuries. 
The  power  of  poetry  is  that  it  sees  and  ex- 
presses truth  in  the  realm  of  the  imagination, 
gives  objective  form  and  color  to  its  ideas,  and 
so  finds  or  renews  the  pictorial  quality  of 
words.  The  preacher  and  the  poet  have  a 
common  aim  in  the  use  of  language,  the  use 
of  such  forms  as  are  connected  with  the  deepest 
sensibilities  of  our  nature.  Preaching  has  kin- 
ship with  the  fine  arts,  with  painting  and  sculp- 
ture and  poetry,  in  that  it  tries  to  represent 
truth,  as  far  as  language  can  do  so,  in  living 
forms. 

And  the  world  of  nature  and  man  is  rich  in 
the  elements  of  illustration.  If  we  only  have 
seeing  eyes,  we  cannot  help  finding  them. 
Truth  has  its  correspondences  everywhere. 
Nature  is  a  parable  of  grace. 

"  The  meanest  flower  that  blows 
Has  some  concord  with  humanity." 

The  best  preachers  have  been  masters  of  illus- 
tration. Every  century  brings  its  proof  of  this 
statement.  It  is  enough  to  think  of  the  effec- 
tive men  of  recent  years. 

Chalmers,  the  philosopher  and  theologian,  the 
intellectual  leader,  made  every  realm  contribute 


244  Illustration 

to  his  power  over  men  ;  especially  did  he  make 
the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God. 

Thomas  Guthrie,  the  prince  of  illustrators,  the 
Bunyan  of  the  Scotch  pulpit,  delighted  and 
helped  equally  the  simple,  untrained  High- 
lander and  the  Scotch  Athenian.  Statesmen, 
philosophers,  writers,  were  his  rapt  listeners. 
Lord  Jeffrey  said  that  there  was  but  one  step 
between  his  major  premise  and  conclusion,  and 
that  an  illustration.  Guthrie's  three  "  P's  "  are 
as  proverbial  as  the  three  "R's,"  —  proving, 
painting,  persuading.  The  picture  sometimes 
embraced  them  all. 

Mr.  Spurgeon's  power  of  illustration  is  well 
known.     He  always  feathered  his  arrows. 

Alexander  Maclaren  is  more  of  an  expositor 
and  a  teacher  of  thinkers,  so  there  is  more 
explanation,  definition,  and  reasoning  in  his 
sermons  ;  but  they  are  also  marked  by  the  apt- 
ness and  variety  of  the  illustrations. 

Frederick  W.  Robertson,  the  critical  scholar, 
the  subtle  thinker,  the  acute  analyzer  of  human 
motives,  has  the  poet's  gift  and  makes  his 
truth  bright  and  beautiful. 

The  pictorial  element  in  American  sermons 
varies  with  the  man  and  the  subject ;  but  our 
most  effective  preachers  have  recognized  its 
need  and  its  blessing. 


Illustration  245 

Horace  Bushnell  does  not  fail  to  use  the 
full  and  formal  illustration,  but  he  is  even  more 
marked  in  the  use  of  pictorial  words. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  has  been  truly  called 
the  Shakspere  of  the  American  pulpit,  not  only 
from  his  wide  knowledge  of  human  life  and  his 
subtle  analysis  of  human  passions,  but  because 
of  the  fertility  of  his  imagination,  his  wonder- 
ful pictures  of  truth,  and  his  strong  appeal  to 
the  feelings. 

Bishop  Phillips  Brooks  is  not  more  noted  for 
the  breadth  and  variety  of  his  thought  than  for 
the  force  and  beauty  of  his  illustrations. 

I  have  tried  to  mention  notable  preachers 
here  alone,  —  those  of  commanding  masculine 
gifts,  preachers  to  men  ;  those  farthest  re- 
moved from  one  of  the  vices  of  the  modern 
pulpit,  sentimentality.  And  these  men  are  all 
distinguished  for  their  intellectuality,  putting 
instruction  first  and  making  their  appeal  to 
feeling  through  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
Each  one,  however,  is  a  master,  each  in  his  own 
way,  of  the  art  of  illustration. 

And  what  is  true  of  these  notable  men  is 
just  as  true  of  that  large  number  of  preachers 
who  are  blessed  of  God  in  making  his  truth 
vivid  and  real,  and  so  move  men  to  repentance 
and   faith.      There   is   more   than   a   grain   of 


246  Illustration 

truth  in  Sydney  Smith's  witticism  :  that  the  sin 
of  the  pulpit  against  the  Holy  Ghost  is  dulness. 

The  Uses  of  Illustration.  — They  give  clearness, 
force,  and  splendor  to  truth. 

They  are  first  to  make  truth  clear.  "  Lord, 
send  me  learning  enough  that  I  may  preach 
plain  enough"  was  the  prayer  of  an  English 
bishop,  that  we  may  well  take  upon  our  lips. 
There  are  few  minds  in  our  audiences  so 
well  trained  as  to  follow  for  any  length  of 
time  a  train  of  close  reasoning,  or  to  receive 
through  the  ear  the  proper  conception  of 
truth  when  expressed  in  any  logical  or  ab- 
stract way.  God  has  given  His  word  a  body. 
It  is  written  so  plain  because  its  letters  are 
those  of  life.  And  we  are  to  make  truth  simple 
and  concrete,  so  that  men  may  see  it  and  love 
it  and  feel  its  power.  You  have  often  seen  the 
light  come  over  the  faces  of  an  audience  that 
has  followed  with  some  difficulty  and  possibly 
with  indifferent  interest  some  definition,  or 
process  of  reasoning,  when  a  fitting  illustration 
has  thrown  its  light  through  the  whole  process 
of  thought.  "Arguments,"  as  Fuller  said, 
"  are  the  pillars  of  a  discourse  ;  illustrations 
are  the  windows  that  let  in  the  light."  ("  One 
illustration  is  worth  a   thousand  abstractions. 


Illustration  247 

They  are  the  windows  of  speech  ;  through  them 
truth  shines,  and  ordinary  minds  fail  to  per- 
ceive truth  clearly  unless  it  is  presented  to 
them  through  this  medium." 

Illustrations  give  force  to  truth.  They  give 
greater  distinctness  to  our  ideas,  form,  and 
color,  and  so  vividness.  Vividness  is  an  element 
of  strength.  The  strongest  words  in  the  lan- 
guage are  the  pictorial  words.  They  touch  the 
sensibilities.  We  can  feel  strongly  only  as  we 
see  vividly. 

Then  they  act  in  accordance  with  what 
Herbert  Spencer  calls  the  economy  of  style. 
The  illustration,  properly  used,  makes  the 
truths  so  clear  and  pleasing,  that  no  special 
effort  of  the  mind  is  required  to  perceive  the 
truth,  and  the  untaxed  power  of  the  mind  can 
be  used  to  appreciate  and  apply  it. 

Illustrations  often  have  the  force  of  arguments. 
They  may  strike  at  once  to  a  man's  conscience 
without  regard  to  logical  form  of  argument. 

Then  illustrations  give  splendor  to  truth.  It 
is  not  enough  to  make  truth  plain  and  rea- 
sonable ;  it  must  be  made  beautiful,  attrac- 
tive, even  at  times  glorious.  The  true  man  will 
never  use  illustration  for  mere  ornament ;  but 
ornament  for  the  purpose  of  honoring  the  truth 
may  serve  the  highest  end. 


248  Illustration 

The  man  who  is  always  striving  after  the 
fine  word,  and  thinking  overmuch  of  style,  must 
be  lacking  in  moral  earnestness.  The  world 
wants  strength  rather  than  mere  beauty.  But 
truth  is  beautiful.  There  is  a  beauty  of  holi- 
ness, and  we  are  to  liken  truth  to  the  most 
beautiful  and  noble  things,  and  give  it  an  honor 
in  the  eyes  of  men.  We  honor  our  Lord  when 
we  give  a  true  splendor  to  His  Word. 

This  effect  is  seen  in  the  sermons  of  Phillips 
Brooks.  Truth  is  presented  in  its  manifold 
relations,  in  the  divineness  of  its  meaning  and 
power.  The  Gospel  is  seen  to  be  the  most 
splendid  thing  in  the  world.  The  most  heavenly 
motives  are  brought  to  bear  upon  the  humblest 
duty,  and  not  a  fact  or  duty  of  life  but  is 
glorified  by  this  heavenly  light. 

Too  many  sermons  are  plain  in  the  sense  of 
being  dull  and  unattractive.  You  cannot  long 
get  a  hearing  unless  you  make  your  sermon 
bright.  The  true  problem  is  to  make  it 
bright  and  spiritual. 

In  addition  to  these  three  chief  uses  of  illustra- 
tions, it  is  true  that  they  help  the  audience  to 
remember  the  truth.  The  illustration  is  remem- 
bered when  everything  else  for  the  time  is  for- 
gotten. Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  testifies  that 
his  audience  will  not  remember  a  sermon  a  year 


Illustration  249 

old  unless  it  have  some  telling  illustration. 
But  the  picture  will  bring  with  it  at  last  the 
lesson  taught. 

Then  illustration  stimulates  the  imagination, 
the  ideality,  the  sense  of  beauty,  and  these  are 
spiritual  spheres  :  religion  has  everything  to 
do  with  them.  You  must  keep  the  sense  of  the 
ideal  alive  in  your  audience.  The  man  who 
preaches  without  illustration,  and  so  with  little 
to  touch  the  sensibilities,  will  teach  but  a 
formal  and  dead  orthodoxy.  That  is  preaching, 
and  that  alone  is  preaching,  that  makes  God 
and  the  soul  real  —  sensible. 

F.  W.  Robertson  of  Brighton  went  to  a  club 
of  workingmen,  whom  he  could  not  get  into  his 
church,  and  spoke  to  them  of  the  poets,  knowing 
that  if  he  could  interest  them  with  the  beautiful 
and  the  heroic,  he  had  broken  the  crust  of  worldly 
habit  and  opened  the  soul  to  the  spiritual  realm. 

The  Laws  for  the  Use  of  Illustration.  —  Illus- 
tration should  be  used  only  when  needed.  They 
should  be  genuine  illustrations,  naturally  rise 
from  the  subject,  and  never  have  the  air  of  being 
forced  and  artificial.  That  which  is  perfectly 
clear  cannot  be  helped  by  illustration.  Style 
should  aim  at  the  realism  of  nature.  One  does 
not  try  to  paint  the  rose. 


250  Illustration 

Illustrations  should  not  be  unduly  prolonged; 
they  should  be  flashes  of  truth,  not  the  steady 
glow.  The  power  of  condensation  is  felt  espe- 
cially in  illustration.  Even  the  genius  of  a 
Bunyan  cannot  always  lift  allegory  into  con- 
tinued interest.  Yet  sometimes  the  elaborate 
illustration  is  useful,  the  picture  given  with 
careful  and  minute  detail. 

Illustrations  should  be  true  to  life,  the  result 
of  careful  observation,  and  drawn  with  accuracy 
and  spirit.  Anecdotes  are  interesting  as  bits 
of  life,  but  they  must  not  be  too  often  told,  and 
they  must  have  the  marks  of  reality.  Many  of 
these  war-worn  veterans  should  be  released  from 
active  service.  But  the  trouble  is  that  many 
of  them  are  forced  to  do  unauthorized  duty. 
"  What  blights  religious  anecdotage  and  makes 
it  an  offence  is  its  apparent  unreality.  Nine 
men  out  of  ten,  at  the  lowest,  believe  it  an  abso- 
lute invention  —  and  very  poor  at  that  —  and 
they  can  find  internal  evidence  for  their  faith." 
Personal  experience  is  often  the  most  effective 
testimony  to  the  truth;  but  it  must  be  used  with 
modest  economy  or  it  will  express  the  person 
more  than  the  truth.  No  man's  experience  is 
large  enough  to  stand  for  the  form  of  truth. 
"  It  is  good  to  have  one's  message  soaked  in 
life,  but  humanity  is  wider  than  one's  relatives." 


Illustration  251 

Illustrations  should  not  be  crowded  upon  the 
same  subject.  Such  use  gives  the  impression 
of  needless  ornament  and  lack  of  substance,  and 
detracts  from  the  directness  and  earnestness  of 
speech.  "Not  copiousness  but  selectness  is 
power  ;  not  in  the  crowd  of  illustrations,  but  in 
the  distinctness  of  one  is  power." 

Learned  illustrations  and  matters  not  well 
understood  should  be  avoided.  The  meaning 
should  flash  at  once  and  not  need  explanation. 
It  must  strike  some  common  chord  of  knowledge 
or  experience  to  be  of  use.  It  is  a  mistake  to  be 
afraid  of  the  lowly  and  commonplace.  Shun 
all  cant  about  dignity  of  style.  "  Nothing  is 
so  dignified  as  a  man  in  earnest." 

It  is  important  to  use  variety  of  illustrations, 
fitted  to  various  minds.  "You  are  going  into 
parishes  where  there  are  old  and  young  and 
middle-aged  people,  where  there  are  working- 
men  and  men  of  leisure,  dull  men  and  sharp 
men,  practised  worldlings  and  spiritual  and 
guileless  men;  in  fact,  all  sorts  of  people.  You 
are  bound  to  see  that  everybody  gets  something 
every  time.  You  will  scarcely  be  able  to  do  it 
in  any  other  way  than  by  illustration."1 

Illustration  should  be  used  with  directness. 
It  is  a  mistake  ever  to  apologize  for  them  or  to 
1  Beecher,  1st  series,  p.  164. 


252  Illustration 

prepare  an  audience  for  them.  Like  humor,  the 
virtue  of  illustration  is  often  in  its  surprise. 
Be  clean,  accurate,  and  quick.  "Make  it  sharp. 
Throw  it  out.  Let  it  come  better  and  better 
—  the  best  at  last,  and  then  be  done  with  it." 

The  Sources  of  Illustration.  —  The  Bible  is  a 
rich  storehouse  of  illustration  for  the  preacher. 
As  a  truthful  record  of  man's  life,  the  special 
record  of  his  religious  experience,  the  treasured 
experiences  of  many  centuries,  no  other  source 
of  illustration  for  the  preacher  can  be  so  varied, 
apt,  and  telling.  Phillips  Brooks  urges  the 
greater  use  of  the  Old  Testament  for  this  pur- 
pose because  the  very  antiquity  of  its  history 
makes  it  timeless  and  passionless,  and  so  its 
illustrations  do  not  introduce  side  issues  from 
its  own  life. 

Nature  is  another  fruitful  field  of  illustration. 
More  people  to-day  are  interested  in  scientific 
study  than  in  any  other  field  of  thought.  How 
large  the  field  of  suggestion  is  shown  by  such 
writers  as  Henry  Drummond  and  Dr.  Hugh 
Macmillan.  The  latter  uses  the  outward  forms 
of  nature  as  the  former  her  forces  and  laws. 
However,  we  should  guard  against  an  absorbing 
interest  in  a  single  field  of  thought  lest  it 
narrow  our  illustrative  teaching.      A  certain 


Illustration  253 

Scotch  preacher  drew  from  his  favorite  study 
until  a  hearer  exclaimed,  "  I  canna  bide  his 
spiders." 

History,  and  especially  the  history  of  the 
Church,  should  often  be  used  by  the  pulpit  to 
illumine  and  enforce  the  truth.  It  is  not 
only  illustrative  but  educative,  giving  to  faith 
breadth  and  strength  of  perspective  and  courage 
from  its  continuity.  The  history  of  the  modern 
world  is  far  more  useful  than  that  of  the  ancient, 
because  better  known,  for  illustration  loses  its 
force  in  proportion  to  the  demand  for  explana- 
tion. Biography  throws  the  brightest  light 
upon  truth  and  missionary  biography  strengthens 
the  faith  of  preacher  and  hearer.  For  young 
life  to  feed  upon  the  heroic  examples  of  modern 
missions  is  to  save  it  from  a  round  of  littleness 
and  weakness  and  spiritual  dearth. 

Literature,  particularly  the  higher  poetry,  is 
for  many  minds  the  rich  mine  next  to  the  Bible. 
It  cultivates  the  imagination,  gives  the  choice 
word,  the  word  of  pictorial  power,  the  telling 
phrase,  and  direct  illustrations  of  life.  The 
poet,  like  the  preacher,  is  the  interpreter  of 
nature  and  the  soul  of  man. 

And  then  human  nature,  the  round  of  daily 
duties,  the  experiences  of  common  men,  are 
often  the  most  effective  illustrations,  for  they 


254  Illustration 

are  based   upon  familiar  knowledge  and  give 
truth  a  practical  power. 

Shall  we  use  handbooks  of  illustration? 
There  may  be  a  proper  use  of  them  at  first,  but 
it  is  likely  to  be  a  misuse.  It  is  apt  to  lead  to 
bad  habits  and  inferior  illustrations,  lacking 
the  personal  quality.  Such  handbooks  should 
never  be  our  reliance — simply  an  open  door  into 
the  habit  of  finding  them  ourselves.  Dr.  John 
Watson's  satire  on  the  crutches  for  lame  minis- 
ters is  well  merited  :  "  It  is  said  that  there  are 
ingenious  books  which  contain  extracts  —  very 
familiar  as  a  rule — on  every  religious  subject, 
so  that  the  minister,  having  finished  his  sermon 
on  faith  or  hope,  has  only  to  take  down  this 
pepper-castor  and  flavor  his  somewhat  bare 
sentences  with  literature.  If  this  ignominious 
tale  be  founded  on  fact,  and  be  not  a  scandal  of 
the  enemy,  then  the  Protestant  Church  ought 
also  to  have  its  index  expurgatorius,  and  its 
central  authorities  insert  therein  books  which 
it  is  inexpedient  for  ministers  to  possess.  In 
this  class  should  be  included  i  The  Garland  of 
Quotations '  and  '  The  Reservoir  of  Illustra- 
tions,' and  it  might  be  well  if  the  chief  of  this 
important  department  should  also  give  notice 
at  fixed  times  that  such  and  such  anecdotes, 
having   been  worn  threadbare,  are  now  with- 


Illustration  255 

drawn  from  circulation.  The  cost  of  this  office 
would  be  cheerfully  defrayed  by  the  laity."  * 

The  chief  thing  in  getting  illustrations  is  to 
cultivate  the  power  of  seeing.  The  seeing  eye 
determines  the  vision.  "  What  a  dreary  pros- 
pect you  have  here,  Mr.  Ruskin  !  Nothing 
but  aflat  country  and  waste  water." — "  Do  you 
think  so?"  said  the  great  prose  poet.  "  When 
I  look  out,  I  always  see  the  sky."  It  is  the 
power  of  vision  that  we  wish ;  and  more  than 
one  preacher  attributes  the  power  to  the  study 
of  John  Ruskin.  John  Wesley  required  his 
young  preachers  to  study  Spenser's  "Faerie 
Queene"  for  this  power  of  illustration.  Fiction 
is  the  vision  of  life,  and  poetry  is  the  discipline 
of  feeling  and  imagination.  The  men  who  see 
are  the  students  of  life,  who  have  intense  human 
interests,  who  are  able  to  sympathize  with  the 
experiences  of  all  sorts  of  men.  "A  man's 
study  should  be  everywhere,  —  in  the  house,  in 
the  street,  in  the  fields,  and  in  the  busy  haunts 
of  men." 

The  matter  of  such  illustrations  will  be 
familiar  to  the  audience  and  come  often  as 
personal  revelations.  Mr.  Spurgeon  often  had 
strangers  come  to  him  and  ask  in  penitence  or 
anger  how  he  knew  the  secrets  of  their  life. 
J  "  Cure  of  Souls,"  p.  50. 


256  Illustration 

A  well-known  preacher  makes  a  study  of 
children's  papers  and  magazines  for  his  illustra- 
tions, and  child  life  furnishes  many  pictures  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  method  should  be 
individual  —  the  aim  is  one,  so  to  quicken  and 
train  the  imagination  and  the  finer  sensibilities 
that  the  messages  of  truth  shall  come  from 
every  side. 

And  this  power  can  be  gained  by  every  con- 
secrated spirit.  Men  differ  here  as  elsewhere. 
But  every  man  who  is  called  to  preach  at  all 
has  the  capacity  of  laying  hold  upon  the  inner- 
most truth,  grasping  it  firmly,  and  holding  it 
up  embodied  to  the  mind.  "While  illustra- 
tions are  as  natural  to  me  as  breathing,  I  use 
fifty  now  to  one  in  the  early  years  of  my 
ministry.  I  developed  a  tendency  that  was 
latent  in  me,  and  educated  myself  in  that  re- 
spect ;  and  that,  too,  by  study  and  practice,  by 
hard  thought,  and  by  a  great  many  trials,  both 
with  the  pen,  and  extemporaneously  by  myself, 
when  I  was  walking  here  and  there.  What- 
ever I  have  gained  in  that  direction  is  largely 
the  matter  of  education." 1 

1  Beecher,  "Yale  Lectures,"  1st  series,  p.  175, 


LECTUEB   XIII 
PERSUASION 


OUTLINE 

Persuasion  may  pertain  to  method  and  spirit  more  than  to 
material,  diffused  through  the  sermon  rather  than  taking  defi- 
nite form.    Most  successful  when  unrecognized. 

1.  Recognition  of  the  spiritual  nature  of  men.  Their  difficul- 
ties, knowledge,  candor,  desire  for  truth  and  goodness. 
Profound  respect  for  the  average  man. 

2.  The  Gospel  is  to  be  presented  in  its  reasonable  form,  in 
harmony  with  the  highest  in  man ;  Christianity  the  wisdom 
of  God  and  perfection  of  human  life. 

3.  The  sermon  is  to  be  a  message  to  conscience,  so  clear  and 
strong  and  personal  that  the  sense  of  ought  will  be  aroused. 
The  effect  of  brave,  manly  preaching. 

4.  The  Gospel  is  persuasive.  The  simplicity  and  comprehen- 
siveness of  Christianity  commend  it  to  all  races  and  ages. 
The  variety  of  appeal.  How  far  should  the  appeal  to  fear 
be  used  ?    The  strength  of  the  nobler  motives. 

5.  Freedom  from  the  dogmatic  spirit.  The  difference  between 
positiveness  and  dogmatism.  The  strength  of  understate- 
ment, of  care  and  thoroughness,  freedom  from  exaggera- 
tion and  charity. 

6.  The  personal  elements  of  persuasion. 

a  Sympathy  with  men.      Not  satire  but  appreciation. 

The  evil  of  scolding  in  the  pulpit. 
b  Conviction  of  truth.    Are  we  to  preach  truth  beyond 

our  experience  ? 
c   The  relation  of  person  and  manner  to  persuasion. 
d  The  power  of  enthusiasm. 
References : 

Beecher.    "  Yale  Lectures."    Vol.  II,  11,  vol.  Ill,  9. 

Dale.     "Yale  Lectures."    pp.  203-220. 

Parkhurst.    "  Three  Gates  on  a  Side." 

Fisk.    "  Manual  of  Preaching."    16. 

Abbott.    "The  Christian  Ministry."    3,4. 


258 


LECTURE   XIII 

PERSUASION 

Persuasion  is  a  subtle,  spiritual  element ; 
it  has  to  do  more  with  the  temper  and  tone  of 
the  man  than  with  what  he  says  ;  it  is  essen- 
tially personal,  coming  from  the  contact  of 
mind  with  mind,  of  spirit  with  spirit.  Some 
men  are  antipathetic  to  you  ;  they  constantly 
antagonize  and  so  rarely  influence  you,  though 
they  may  speak  the  truth.  And  they  may 
take  this  attitude  toward  a  large  part  of  their 
audience.  The  very  sight  of  some  men  is  a 
benediction.  They  are  like  the  sunlight  upon  a 
landscape,  making  it  beautiful  and  also  fertile 
for  any  good  seed  that  may  be  sown  in  its  soil. 
"The  very  sound  of  that  man's  voice  has  a 
wonderful  influence  over  me,  though  I  should 
not  understand  a  word  that  he  said,"  was  the 
testimony  concerning  such  a  man.  But  the 
truth  itself  and  the  way  it  is  spoken  all  bear 
relation  to  the  personality  of  the  preacher  and 
so  have  to  do  with  the  winning  or  repelling  of 

men. 

259 


260  Persuasion 

As  the  very  idea  of  preaching  is  to  speak 
truth  so  that  it  will  persuade,  it  is  well  to  think 
of  some  of  the  elements  that  enter  into  per- 
suasion. 

The  persuasive  preacher  is  one  who  recog- 
nizes the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  believes  in 
it,  and  tries  to  call  it  out.  Christ  at  the  well 
of  Sychar  is  a  good  example  for  us.  The  way 
He  dealt  with  the  woman  is  an  imperishable 
lesson.  He  did  not  despise  her  nor  ignore  her. 
He  was  free  from  disdain  and  superiority.  He 
did  not  speak  down  to  her  ;  He  did  not  con- 
descend nor  patronize.  He  believed  too  pro- 
foundly in  her  soul.  He  tried  to  awaken  the 
spiritual  thirst  and  then  satisfy  it.  To  this 
ignorant,  superstitious,  and  degraded  woman 
He  spoke  the  sublimest  truth  of  the  Gospel  as 
though  it  were  hers  by  right  as  well  as  His. 
And  it  was  the  same  spiritual  vision  and  faith 
that  a  little  after  called  the  crowd  of  Samari- 
tans "the  fields  white  unto  the  harvest." 

There  must  be  a  real  knowledge  of  men,  born 
of  sympathy  with  them,  the  understanding  of  the 
difficulties  of  faith,  intellectual  and  moral,  and 
an  invincible  faith  that  through  all  doubts  and 
denials,  all  temptations  and  failures,  men  have 
religious  natures  and  have  some  desire  to  be 


Persuasion  261 

good  men.  Our  knowledge  of  sins,  the  effort 
to  convince  men  of  their  sins,  will  weaken  our 
faith  in  them  unless  we  are  careful.  The  un- 
responsiveness of  many  men,  their  callous, 
hardened  nature,  our  own  failure  to  reach  them, 
may  cause  us  to  lose  all  faith  in  them,  and  we 
often  act  as  though  they  were  beyond  reach. 
Such  a  temper  is  fatal  to  persuasion.  Men  are 
never  reached  save  by  those  who  have  faith 
that  they  can  be. 

"Almost  all  your  sermons  should  be  with 
the  seekers  in  your  eye.  Preaching  to  them 
you  shall  preach  to  all.  The  indifferent  shall 
be  wakened  into  hope  ;  the  scornful  shall  feel 
some  sting  of  shame  ;  and  before  those  who  are 
most  conscious  of  what  God  has  done  for  them 
shall  open  up  visions  of  what  greater  things  he 
yet  may  do." 

This  faith  in  the  spiritual  capacity  of  men 
has  its  complement  in  the  way  the  preacher 
looks  at  the  Gospel  and  presents  it.  Where 
there  is  a  want,  there  is  that  to  satisfy  the 
want.  The  Gospel  stands  to  match  the  spirit- 
ual nature  and  need  of  man.  And  it  must  be 
presented  in  its  fulness  of  supply  and  its  adap- 
tation to  man's  infinite  variety.  "  Christ  was 
made  in  accordance  to  the  power  of  an  endless 


262  Persuasion 

life,"  says  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  it  is  in  this  spirit  of  divine 
adaptation  to  the  wonderful  nature  of  man  that 
we  must  present  the  Gospel  of  the  divine  life. 
"  No  doctrine  of  the  Christian  faith  is  worth 
preserving  which  cannot  be  verified  in  daily 
life,  and  no  doctrine  will  need  to  be  defended 
when  stated  in  human  terms."  Paul  calls  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross  the  wisdom  of  God,  and 
it  must  therefore  satisfy  the  highest  reason  of 
man.  And  we  may  be  sure  that  when  we  pre- 
sent the  Gospel  as  Christ  lived  and  taught  it, 
the  reason  of  men  will  give  assent  to  it.  The 
man  who  would  persuade  must  remember  that 
he  cannot  force  the  reason  of  men,  and  he  may 
not  long  do  violence  to  it.  Faith  and  reason 
will  not  conflict.  Only  reason  must  be  helped 
by  the  more  spiritual  faculties  or  instincts  of 
the  soul  —  faith,  hope,  love,  obedience  —  into 
the  full  conception  of  the  truth. 

There  is  a  way  of  presenting  the  Gospel  as 
a  scheme,  a  mechanical  system,  a  hard  and  fast 
dogma ;  and  there  is  a  way  of  painting  it  as  a 
life, — every  truth  to  satisfy  the  nature  and  need 
of  the  soul,  —  a  salvation  not  merely  from  the 
penalty  of  sin  but  into  the  fulness  of  life  — 
God's  way  of  making  a  man. 

I   do   not   mean  that  to   be  persuasive   the 


Persuasion  263 

preacher  must  avoid  the  sterner  aspects  of 
truth  and  preach  to  the  fancy  and  sentiment 
and  ideal  hopes  of  men.  We  must  reach  the 
conscience  if  we  are  to  move  men  to  serious  and 
radical  change  of  life.  We  must  be  too  loyal 
to  truth  to  modify  it  to  suit  the  tastes  of  men. 
We  must  love  men  too  well  to  keep  the  truth 
from  them.  We  must  say  with  Kingsley,  "I 
will  make  myself  all  things  to  all  men,  but  I 
will  keep  truth  the  same,  eternal."  And  men 
love  a  sincere,  fearless  preacher.  It  appeals  to 
the  sense  of  right  in  them  and  is  one  of  the 
most  powerful  means  of  training  individual  and 
social  conscience.  All  the  sanctions  of  right 
and  the  higher  nature  of  men  are  on  the  side 
of  such  preaching.  A  brave  sincerity  never 
interfered  with  leadership,  especially  in  one 
who  is  a  shepherd  of  mankind  in  deed.  It  is 
only  when  the  stern,  sharp  truth  is  spoken  by 
a  cold,  selfish,  dogmatic  man  that  it  shuts  the 
hearts  of  men.  Love  must  speak  the  word  to 
conscience  if  it  is  to  be  a  persuasive  word. 
"Speaking  the  truth  in  love "  is  the  way  of  the 
New  Testament. 

I  do  not  believe  that  we  can  persuade  to  great 
and  permanent  issues  unless  we  speak  this  fear- 
less word  to  conscience.  In  the  increased  com- 
plexity of  life,  the  growth  of  taste  and  culture, 


264  Persuasion 

the  sense  of  sin  is  not  easily  awakened.  Men 
of  noble  impulses  and  many  beautiful  senti- 
ments cannot  realize  that  they  are  lost  without 
the  Christ.  The  age  needs  to  be  taught  the 
heinousness  of  sin.  The  first  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  to  convince  men  of  sin.  "  The  great- 
est sin  is  insensibility  to  sin."  The  voice  of 
conscience  cannot  be  too  clear  and  sharp. 

If  we  present  Christianity  in  its  simplicity  and 
comprehensiveness,  our  message  will  be  persua- 
sive. It  is  the  Gospel  for  all  peoples,  and  there- 
fore the  true  evangel  must  have  the  catholic  and 
universal  note.  We  can  persuade  but  a  few  men 
to  follow  our  ism,  we  can  lead  the  multitude  to 
follow  the  Christ.  It  must  be  the  simplicity  of 
the  Christ,  not  a  partial  and  eccentric  view  set 
loose  and  incarnated,  not  human  speculations 
concerning  Him,  not  the  refinements  of  human 
reason,  but  the  Christ  in  relation  to  the  whole 
man  and  to  every  man.  If  we  can  so  learn  Christ, 
if  we  can  so  present  Him,  men  will  be  drawn  to 
Him  as  He  promised. 

We  are  learning  as  never  before  the  variety 
of  ways  that  men  come  into  the  Christian  life, 
the  many  gates  to  the  spiritual  nature,  and 
the  different  motives  that  will  appeal  to  men. 
The   study   of   child   nature,  the   emphasis   in 


Persuasion  265 

recent  years  upon  Christian  experience,  the 
growing  recognition  of  the  varieties  of  religious 
experience,  all  teach  us  that  we  must  not  make 
our  particular  experience  or  that  of  any  class  or 
movement  as  the  test  of  all  other  men.  We 
must  go  to  the  Gospel  and  present  the  many- 
sidedness  of  Christ  if  in  the  largest  sense  we 
would  have  a  persuasive  message. 

It  is  said  by  a  recent  writer,  Professor  Coe, 
in  the  "  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,"  that  the 
sense  of  fear  has  largely  gone  from  modern  life, 
that  men  can  no  longer  be  driven  by  religious 
fears.  It  may  be  that  the  more  spiritual  con- 
ception of  sin  and  punishment,  the  spiritual 
interpretation  of  the  material  pictures  of  pun- 
ishment, account  in  part  for  this  change.  That 
it  is  hard  for  men  to  feel  the  force  of  spirit- 
ual truth  —  with  the  vanishing  of  the  physical 
pictures  the  truth  also  has  passed. 

I  feel  sure  that  fear  is  a  motive  of  life,  that 
fear  is  in  the  words  of  Christ,  that  many  dulled 
or  thoughtless  natures  can  never  be  roused  save 
by  pain  or  the  fear  of  penalty.  So  that  the 
preacher  who  fails  to  depict  the  results  of  sin, 
who  presents  only  the  beautiful  sentiments  and 
hopes  of  Christianity,  is  presenting  a  partial 
Gospel  and  not  adapting  his  message  to  all 
natures.      Yet  fear  at  best  is  but  the  "alarm 


266  Persuasion 

bell " ;  it  cannot  be  the  prevailing  note  of  the 
evangel;  it  must  give  place  to  the  higher 
motives,  if  the  awakened  life  is  to  have  the 
Spirit  of  a  Son  of  God.  And  there  is  more 
strength  than  men  think  in  the  nobler  motives 
to  arouse  the  soul,  and  they  are  the  food  for  the 
development  of  the  higher  life.  Christ  meets 
the  instinctive  craving  for  God,  He  satisfies  the 
deep  sense  of  right,  He  answers  the  hunger  for 
truth,  He  is  the  ideal  of  manhood,  He  awakens 
the  purest  and  most  ardent  love,  He  sets  before 
life  the  noblest  aim  and  motive,  and  His  service 
enlarges  and  enriches,  gives  the  abundant  life. 
Here  lie  the  persuasive  motives  of  the  Gospel. 

Preaching  should  be  positive  but  not  dogmatic 
if  it  is  to  be  the  persuasion  of  life. 

The  positive  and  the  dogmatic  are  often  con- 
sidered identical,  but  they  are  to  be  carefully 
distinguished.  They  do  not  differ  in  the  clear- 
ness and  strength  of  conviction  -nor  in  the  un- 
mistakableness  of  teaching,  but  in  the  manner 
and  the  spirit. 

The  dogmatic  aims  at  compelling  assent  to 
the  form  of  truth :  the  positive  is  not  indiffer- 
ent to  correct  belief,  but  is  anxious  only  for  the 
obedience  of  life.  The  dogmatic  is  mandatory, 
the  preacher  taking  the  judgment  seat  and  as- 


Persuasion  267 

suming  for  his  words  the  power  of  life  and 
death.  The  positive  would  refrain  from  all 
assertion  of  personal  authority  and  lead  men 
to  act  by  the  divineness  of  the  doctrine.  The 
dogmatic  does  not  bear  questioning,  is  tempted 
to  the  overbearing  and  uncharitable,  lacks  the 
grace  of  humility  and  sympathy  with  those  who 
differ.  The  positive  recognizes  the  limitation 
of  human  knowledge,  the  human  element  in  all 
teaching,  and  that  men  of  different  minds  may 
be  equally  lovers  of  truth.  The  dogmatic  may 
make  a  stronger  temporary  appeal  over  ignorant 
minds  ;  the  positive  grounds  its  persuasion  upon 
reason  and  so  leads  to  a  rational  and  abiding 
life. 

There  is  no  little  danger  in  the  sense  of  mes- 
sage and  iu  the  zeal  for  souls,  of  careless  over- 
statement of  opinion  and  in  the  exaggeration  of 
earnestness.  It  is  all  a  sign  of  weakness  and  of 
superficial  faith.  "  He  that  believeth  shall  not 
be  in  haste." 

The  pulpit  gains  by  balance  and  moderation, 
by  scholarly  care,  by  the  simplicity  and  sincer- 
ity that  abhors  rhetorical  exaggeration,  and  by 
the  tolerance  that  consists  of  "  the  love  of  truth 
and  the  love  of  man  harmonized  and  included 
in  the  love  of  God."  "Be  more  afraid  of  the 
littleness  than  of  the  largeness  of  life.      Seek 


268  Persuasion 

with  study  and  with  prayer  for  the  most  clear 
and  confident  convictions ;  and  when  you  have 
won  them,  hold  them  so  largely  and  vitally  that 
they  shall  be  to  you,  not  the  walls  which  sepa- 
rate you  from  your  brethren  who  have  other 
convictions  than  yours,  but  the  medium  through 
which  you  enter  into  understanding  of  and  sym- 
pathy with  them ;  as  the  ocean,  which  was  once 
the  barrier  between  the  nations,  is  now  the 
highway  for  their  never  resting  ships,  and 
makes  the  whole  world  one."1 

Throughout  this  discussion  of  persuasion,  the 
personal  qualities  of  the  preacher  have  been 
implied  ;  it  is  well  in  conclusion  to  fix  special 
thought  upon  them. 

If  the  "  heart  makes  the  theologian,"  it  cer- 
tainly makes  the  persuasive  preacher.  Mr. 
Great- Heart  should  always  stand  in  the  pulpit. 
To  be  known  as  a  man  of  warm  and  tender 
sympathies  is  to  turn  the  hearts  of  the  people 
toward  you.  Many  are  burdened,  weary, 
struggling,  dispirited,  and  they  crave  the  cheer 
of  a  brave  and  hopeful  sympathy.  Satire  may 
have  a  small  place  in  the  sermon,  but  apprecia- 
tion should  be  the  constant  element.  "  I  live 
by  admiration  and  appreciation  "  are  the  words 
1  Phillips  Brooks,  "Tolerance,"  p.  111. 


Persuasion  269 

of  Dr.  Alexander  Whyte.  Scolding  is  the 
evidence  of  a  petty  spirit,  and  the  confession 
of  weakness.  Remember  George  Eliot's  pic- 
ture in  Adam  Bede  :  "  Mr.  Irwine  was  like  a 
good  meal  of  victuals,  you  were  the  better  for 
him  without  thinking  on  it ;  and  Mr.  Ryde  was 
like  a  dose  of  physic,  he  gripped  you  and 
worreted  you,  and  after  all  he  left  you  much 
the  same." 

To  speak  truth  like  truth  and  not  like  fiction 
is  the  law  of  convincing  preaching.  And  this 
implies  profound  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the 
message  and  its  importance  to  the  hearer.  The 
conviction  should  be  personal  and  not  simply 
inherited  or  imposed.  We  cannot  sincerely 
preach  truth  beyond  our  experience.  "The 
authority  of  the  preacher  lies  in  his  power  to 
make  other  men  see  the  God  whom  he  has  him- 
self first  seen."1  Unless  men  believe  that  we 
have  honestly  thought  out  the  truth,  and  tried 
to  live  it,  they  will  have  no  final  respect  for  our 
message.  This  may  limit  the  range  of  preach- 
ing, but  it  will  immeasurably  increase  its  power. 
"  That  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  declare  we 
unto  you  "  is  the  Scripture  word  for  persuasion. 

The  preacher's  appearance  and  manner  in  the 
pulpit  have  no  little  to  do  with  persuasion, 
i  Lyman  Abbott,  "  The  Christian  Ministry,"  p.  90. 


270  Persuasion 

Whatever  will  offend  a  pure  taste  in  person  and 
dress  should  be  avoided.  A  restlessness,  the 
lack  of  natural  dignity  and  reverence,  preju- 
dices many  minds  against  the  preacher.  Others 
are  rendered  critical  by  a  lack  of  modesty  and 
quiet  reserve.  Certain  mannerisms  of  speech 
that  seem  to  indicate  a  sense  of  conscious  supe- 
riority, a  high,  shrill  voice,  a  nasal  tone,  may 
seriously  lessen  the  power  of  a  message.  The 
preacher  strives  to  forget  himself ;  but  he  has 
no  right  to  forget  what  he  is  doing  until  natural 
and  pleasing  habits  are  formed.  The  smallest 
thing  is  to  be  lifted  up  into  the  great  motive  of 
the  Kingdom.  Kingsley's  word  is  to  be  our 
motto,  "  Would  that  I  were  an  Apollo  for  His 
sake  !  " 

The  highest  element  of  persuasion  is  an  en- 
thusiasm for  truth  and  humanity,  born  of  God's 
spirit,  as  the  Word  indicates.  A  divine  unction 
will  often  make  men  forget  peculiarities  of 
manner  and  even  crudeness  of  speech.  Nothing 
can  take  the  place  of  the  "baptism  of  fire." 
Without  it  the  most  perfect  form  is  a  lifeless 
husk. 

"  Many  Christian  ministers  may  have  highest 
culture,  and  may  write  their  sermons  with 
much  skill  and  thought  —  beautifully  executed 
work  like  a  Grecian  marble  statue.     Alas  !  there 


Persuasion  271 

is  no  heart  in  it.  Divine  fire  is  needed  to  heat 
men's  hearts.  Those  who  depend  very  much 
upon  their  talents  and  knowledge  are  apt  to 
forget  to  seek  this  much-needed  divine  fire  for 
themselves  as  well  as  for  their  hearers.  How 
cold  such  a  heart  must  be  to  a  congregation !  It 
is  tireless  and  lifeless."  1 

1  "Diary  of  Joseph  Neesima." 


LECTURE  XIV 
PREACHING  WITH  MANUSCRIPT 


OUTLINE 

1.  General  suggestions. 

a  There  is  no  best  way  for  every  man.  Effectiveness  is 
often  independent  of  method.    Life  is  before  method. 

6  The  relation  of  circumstances  to  method.  The  variety 
of  audiences  and  conditions.  By  these  method  may 
be  affected. 

2.  The  advantages  of  the  written  sermon. 

a  Writing  is  a  test  of  thought.  It  clarifies  vision.  It 
despises  mere  volubility  and  insures  a  worthy  mes- 
sage. 

b  It  leads  to  precision  of  language.  Words  are  more 
truthful.  We  discuss  specific  themes  and  need  ac- 
curacy. The  tendency  of  the  American  pulpit  to 
exaggeration.  A  man  speaks  well  in  proportion  as 
he  writes  much. 

c  It  leads  to  orderly  development  of  the  sermon.  Im- 
portant links  are  not  omitted.  Truth  stands  out  in 
proper  proportion. 

d  Thought  provokes  thought.  To  most  men  writing  is 
an  act  of  intense  thinking,  and  so  a  richer  sermon 
results. 

e  The  use  of  the  manuscript  keeps  the  mind  from  ner- 
vous dread.  Better  physical  condition  for  worship 
and  the  delivery  of  the  sermon. 

/  The  written  sermon  is  preserved  for  future  use.  A 
sermon  the  expression  of  life.  Writing  alone  keeps 
the  subtle  influence  of  mental  and  moral  states, 
the  atmosphere  of  the  sermon.  Not  a  plea  for  old 
sermons. 

g  The  only  method  for  many  noble  and  useful  men. 

3.  Disadvantages. 

a  The  artistic  element  may  overshadow  the  practical. 
b  The  sermon  cannot  well  be  changed  to  meet  sudden 

need, 
c  In  delivery,  the  mind  is  not  so  quickened,  not  so  open 

to  influences.    So  the  sermon  may  not  be  a  living 

message. 
d  The  delivery  is  not  so  natural. 

4.  The  conditions  of  success. 

a  Careful  preparation  of  the  sermon.    Not  extempora- 
neous writing. 
b  Write  as  consecutively  as  possible,  that  the  sermon 
may  glow  and  pulse  with  life,  and  have  the  oral  style. 
c   Study  the  manuscript.    Be  possessed  with  the  mes- 
sage. 
d  Speak  directly  to  men.     Reading  is  not  preaching. 
Preach  through  the  manuscript. 
References  : 

Broadus.     "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."   pp.  406-424. 
Taylor.    "  The  Ministry  of  the  Word."    pp.  113-121, 

148,  152. 
John  Hall.    "  God's  Word  through  Preaching."    6. 
Paxton-Hood.    "Lamps,  Pitchers,  and  Trumpets." 

Vol.  II,  3. 
Pattison.    ' '  The  Making  of  the  Sermon. "    20. 

274 


LECTURE   XIV 

PREACHING  WITH  MANUSCRIPT 

There  is  endless  discussion  as  to  the  best 
way  of  preaching,  each  method  having  its 
special  advocates.  The  best  that  can  be  said 
is  that  the  argument  is  probably  true  for  the 
man  who  uses  it.  It  cannot  be  too  often 
repeated  that  preaching  is  a  vital  matter,  the 
expression  of  personality,  and  consequently  its 
power  lies  back  of  method.  So  it  is  well  to 
preface  the  discussion  of  the  various  ways  of 
preaching  by  some  general  suggestions  that 
may  place  method  in  its  true  light. 

General  Suggestions.  —  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  no  best  way  for  every  man.  Too 
much  has  been  made  of  method.  Effectiveness 
in  the  pulpit  is  largely  independent  of  method. 
Men  will  lay  down  laws  from  their  own  success, 
forgetful  of  the  variety  of  natures  and  con- 
ditions. 

Dr.  Buckley  in  a  lecture  on  preaching  has 
made  a  sweeping  condemnation  of  memoriter 
275 


276  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

preaching,  while  Dr.  W.  M.  Taylor  prac- 
tised that  method  for  the  first  ten  years  of  his 
ministry,  and  regrets  that  he  ever  gave  it  up. 
"  If  I  might  speak  from  my  own  experience, 
therefore,  I  would  say,  that  memoriter  preach- 
ing is  the  method  which  has  the  greatest 
advantages,  with    the    fewest   disadvantages." 

Dr.  Dale  of  Birmingham  thinks  that  the 
overwhelming  weight  of  the  argument  is  on 
the  side  of  extemporaneous  preaching,  while 
another  keen  critic  says  :  "  Some  young  men 
will  never  rise  above  mediocrity  if  they  begin 
ministerial  life  with  the  idea  that  reading  is 
not  preaching.  If  a  young  man  can  do  better 
with  the  manuscript  than  without  it,  let  him 
not  be  deterred  by  the  vulgar  prejudice  against 
writing,  from  taking  his  paper  into  his  pulpit." 

Men  may  be  successful  preachers  in  spite 
of  method.  Robertson,  Spurgeon,  Maclaren, 
Beecher,  Storrs,  are  examples  of  freedom  and 
power,  while  Chalmers,  not  a  whit  behind 
the  others,  read  slavishly.  Dr.  Parkhurst 
reads  with  his  eye  on  the  page  or  the  ceiling, 
and  the  ink  hardly  dry  upon  his  paper,  while 
Phillips  Brooks  used  both  methods,  and  was 
equally  masterful  over  the  minds  of  men  in 
both.  The  truth  is,  success  is  always  deeper 
than  a  mere  method.      It  is  in  the  man,  in  his 


Preaching  with  Manuscript  211 

personality  and  his  message.  Method  is  at 
best  only  a  channel,  and  power  will  use  a  com- 
mon channel  or  make  its  own. 

Then  a  particular  method  of  preaching  may 
depend  upon  circumstances.  It  may  not  only 
come  from  them,  but  should  be  adapted  to 
them. 

To  a  simple,  untrained  people,  a  paper  in  the 
pulpit  may  be  an  offence.  Evangelistic  preach- 
ing generally  demands  the  directness  of  free 
speech.  Large  audiences  are  helpful  to  extem- 
poraneous address,  while  small  and  thoughtful 
audiences  make  it  difficult. 

Dr.  Storrs  wrote  and  read  for  twenty-five 
years,  when  the  burning  of  his  church,  the  use 
of  an  opera  house,  and  the  change  in  the 
character  of  the  audience  compelled  him  to  try 
the  freer  method,  discovered  his  power,  and 
made  him  the  prince  of  extempore  preachers. 
There  are  many  who  say,  and  probably  with 
truth,  that  the  quarter  century  of  careful  writ- 
ing was  the  foundation  for  the  later  success. 

We  know  that  preaching  is  far  more  than 
the  simple  telling  of  the  story  of  the  cross. 
Such  may  be  our  work  to  simple  groups  or  in 
strange  lands.  But  a  far  harder  task  may  be 
ours.  Christianity  has  created  the  intellectual 
life,  and   the    average   audience    in  Christian 


278  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

lands,  needing  the  simplest  truth  of  the  Gospel, 
have  also  intellectual  needs  to  be  met,  and 
cultured  tastes  to  be  satisfied.  And  the  truth 
must  be  so  spoken  as  to  win  the  attention  and 
respect,  and  win  its  way  into  all  hearts. 

So,  while  method  is  always  secondary  to 
manhood,  it  is  worth  study  and  personal 
adaptation  as  the  best  way  of  expressing  the 
power  of  life  and  truth. 

The  Advantages  of  the  Written  Sermon.  — 
Writing  is  a  test  of  a  man's  thought.  He  may 
have  what  he  thinks  to  be  a  wonderful  vision 
of  truth.  It  seems  even  the  more  wonderful 
because  shadowy,  as  in  a  fog  the  outline  of 
objects  is  magnified.  All  preachers  have 
had  such  experiences.  Now  writing  helps  to 
clarify  vision.  The  pen  is  a  dispeller  of  false 
charms.  If  the  visions  are  real,  though  shad- 
owy, the  process  of  thinking  them  out  and 
putting  them  down  on  paper  in  the  best  way 
brings  them  out  of  all  dimness  into  clear  and 
definite  form.  And  if  the  visions  are  but 
shadows,  they  vanish,  and  the  man  knows  his 
poverty  and  sets  to  work  to  get  genuine 
material.  So  writing  leads  to  serious  think- 
ing. It  is  a  promoter  of  a  studious  life.  It 
tends  to  give  a  man  a  high  ideal  of  thorough- 


Preaching  with  Manuscript  279 

ness.  He  learns  to  despise  mere  volubility  ;  to 
escape  the  snare  of  eloquence  ;  to  weigh  his 
thoughts,  and  feel  the  moral  quality  of  his 
words. 

Writing  is  a  method  that  on  the  whole  in- 
sures a  worthy  message.  The  very  fact  of  a 
manuscript  is  apt  to  give  the  people  that  assur- 
ance, while  there  is  an  instinctive  suspicion 
of  the  man  without  the  manuscript  until  the 
people  know  his  character  and  intellectual 
habits. 

There  is  no  special  spiritual  virtue  in  extem- 
poraneousness,  either  in  preaching  or  worship. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  as  truly  in  the  study  as 
in  the  pulpit.  It  is  only  fanaticism  that 
makes  the  sweeping  application  and  a  false  in- 
terpretation of  the  text,  "Take  no  heed  what  ye 
shall  say."  Writing  is  not  a  lack  of  faith.  It 
may  be  the  highest  honor  we  can  pay  the  Spirit 
and  the  Word. 

Writing  leads  to  precision  of  language.  "  Writ- 
ing maketh  an  exact  man"  is  the  familiar 
word  of  Lord  Bacon.  "  The  preacher  sought 
to  find  out  acceptable  words "  is  the  fine 
description  of  the  Bible.  Think  of  the  power 
of  a  word,  the  moral  quality  of  words.  They 
are  the  living  pulses  of  the  soul.  Through  the 
spoken  word  we  are  to  pour  life  into  the  lives 


280  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

of  the  hearers.  Words  to  be  truthful,  to  con- 
vey the  reality,  should  give  the  exact  measure, 
spirit,  and  life  of  the  message.  How  are  we  to 
use  such  words  ?  It  is  an  accepted  maxim  that 
there  is  a  relation  between  style  and  thought. 
"Style  is  the  man."  Exact  thinking  must  be 
back  of  exact  speech.  A  clear,  forceful  mes- 
sage will  seek  such  a  channel  of  expression.  It 
will  despise  dim  and  nerveless  speech.  But 
the  difficulty  is  great  here.  "Will  not  writing 
be  the  best  means  of  securing  exactness  ;  pre- 
cision of  style  ? 

Words  may  mean  so  many  different  things 
according  to  the  training  and  associations  of 
men.  How  shall  words  convey  the  same  im- 
pression to  the  hearer  that  they  have  in  the 
mind  of  the  preacher  ? 

The  preacher  is  discussing  specific  themes  : 
those  that  require  scientific  accuracy.  There 
is  too  much  haziness  in  the  mind  about  the 
simplest  truths  of  the  Gospel.  And  for  this 
the  diffuse,  careless  speech  of  the  pulpit  is 
often  responsible. 

Careless,  inexact,  foolish  words  are  spoken  by 
the  extemporaneous  speaker.  There  is  great 
danger  of  misunderstanding.  Every  man  has 
had  this  experience  of  being  understood  in 
the  very  sense   he  did   not  mean.     This  fact 


Preaching  with  Manuscript  281 

alone  has  made  some  men  so  sensitive  that  they 
will   not   suffer   themselves   to   speak   without 
careful  writing.     And  who  has  not  had  painful 
moments  over  lapses  of  speech,  broken  expres- 
sion, and  foolish  words  struck  off  like  sparks 
from  the  anvil  in  the   heat   of   the  moment ! 
The   special  fault  of   the  American  pulpit   is 
exaggeration.     We   have  not  learned   the   ele- 
ment of  simplicity,  — "much  within  and  little 
without."      We  are   not   willing   to  let   truth 
have  its  exact  measure  ;  we  make  her  go  on 
stilts.     "  Some  of  our  gaudy  bindings  must  be 
as  distasteful  to  them  as  some  of  their  gigantic 
utterances   are   to   us"  is   the   criticism   of   a 
writer  in  the  Expository  Times. 

In  writing  the  best  word  can  be  chosen,  and 
the  order  can  be  secured  that  makes  truth  clear 
and  strong.  There  is  deliberation,  thoughtf  ul- 
ness  ;  defect  can  be  remedied.  The  preacher 
can  look  with  critical  eye  at  his  own  work. 

All  thoughtful  men  realize  the  advantages 
of  writing.  Write  much  is  the  constant  ad- 
vice, whatever  be  the  method  of  preaching. 
Robertson  wrote  the  sermon  over  the  Monday 
after  he  had  preached  it.  Spurgeon  corrected 
the  reporter's  notes.     Beecher  constantly  wrote 

for  the  press. 

"I  could  lay  it  down  as  a  rule  admitting  of 


282  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

no  exception,"  said  Lord  Brougham  in  his 
Inaugural  Address  at  Glasgow  University, 
"that  a  man  will  speak  well  in  proportion  as 
he  has  written  much,  and  that  with  equal  talents 
he  will  be  the  finest  extempore  speaker,  when  no 
time  for  preparing  is  allowed,  who  has  prepared 
himself  most  sedulously  when  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  delivering  a  premeditated  speech. /y 

The  practical  question  is,  How  shall  the  young 
minister,  with  the  pressing  demands  of  pulpit 
and  parish,  get  the  time  to  write,  unless  he 
writes  on  his  sermons  ?  In  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  the  average  man  will  wholly  neglect  writ- 
ing, and  fall  into  diffuse,  inexact,  unprogressive 
speech,  unless  he  writes  somewhat  for  the  pulpit. 

Writing  leads  to  orderly  development  of  the 
sermon.  Important  links  are  not  omitted. 
The  steps  of  thought  are  made  in  proper  order. 
Care  can  be  taken  with  the  transitions  of 
thought  —  often  the  finest  and  most  difficult 
parts  of  the  sermon  —  that  act  both  as  rests 
to  the  mind  and  as  the  bands  of  thought. 

And  the  truth  can  so  be  made  to  stand  be- 
fore the  mind  in  its  proper  proportion.  Ser- 
mons may  be  true,  but  malformed  —  certain 
parts  out  of  proportion  to  the  rest,  as  though 
the  map  of  the  country  should  be  drawn  with 
New  York  on  a  scale  five  times  larger  than  that 


Preaching  with  Manuscript  283 

of  other  states.  Symmetry  of  creation  is  neces- 
sary for  symmetry  of  impression.  The  imagi- 
nation should  conceive  the  whole,  and  then  the 
writing  make  good  each  separate  part. 

Thought  provokes  thought.  In  careful  writ- 
ing there  is  time  to  think.  In  spite  of  all 
theories  more  thought  is  used.  And  by  think- 
ing, by  the  effort  of  careful  expression,  other 
thought  is  started  not  in  the  mind  at  first.  As 
in  long,  intent  looking  upon  any  object,  many 
things  are  found  not  at  first  seen,  so  in  the 
study  of  truth  as  we  write.  To  most  men  the 
act  of  writing  is  this  intense  looking.  And  so 
a  richer,  fuller  sermon  results. 

The  use  of  the  manuscript  keeps  the  mind 
from  nervous  dread.  The  man  goes  to  the 
pulpit  in  better  physical  condition,  can  give 
himself  unreservedly  to  the  proper  delivery  of 
the  sermon,  and  is  not  so  anxious  and  prepos- 
sessed as  to  have  no  strength  for  the  proper 
expression  of  the  parts  of  worship. 

John  Angell  James  said  to  a  friend  that  he 
should  read  his  sermon  before  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society.  The  friend  remonstrated. 
"  Why  shouldn't  I  read  ?  " —  "  Because  you  are 
never  so  effective  when  you  read."  —  "Well, 
now,  I'll  tell  you  how  it  is.  If  I  preach  without 
reading,  I  shall  be  miserable  for  three  weeks — 


284  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

miserable  till  I  am  in  the  pulpit ;  if  I  read,  I 
shall  be  quite  happy  till  I  begin  to  preach, 
though  I  shall  be  miserable  till  I  finish." 

Then  the  written  sermon  can  be  preserved 
and  used  again  if  need  be.  There  are  certain 
moral  and  intellectual  experiences  that  give 
to  a  particular  sermon  its  power.  You  pass 
out  from  the  experience  to  others,  in  the  prog- 
ress of  your  life.  But  the  truth  that  you 
then  found  and  felt  as  a  fresh  discovery  is 
an  old  truth,  and  needs  to  be  presented  again. 
That  particular  truth  may  not  present  itself 
with  the  same  peculiar  power  again.  Now  the 
written  sermon  preserves  something  of  the 
atmosphere  of  the  truth.  The  experience  is  in 
a  certain  sense  fixed,  and  so  can  be  made  vivid 
to  an  audience  again. 

It  is  not  a  plea  for  old  sermons.  The  man 
who  begins  to  live  on  the  past  has  begun  to 
decline.  It  is  not  the  plea  for  the  lazy  man. 
But  a  man  can  preach  an  old  sermon  without 
the  charge  of  laziness.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  reproduce  an  extemporaneous  sermon.  The 
subtle  influence  of  life  has  gone  from  it. 

The  last  and  perhaps  the  strongest  reason  for 
the  written  sermon  is  that  many  noble  and  use- 
ful men  without  the  manuscript  would  never 
be  able  to  preach  at  all. 


Preaching  with  Manuscript  285 

The  advantages  of  the  written  sermon  taken 
alone  might  give  an  exaggerated  view  of  this 
method  of  preaching.  The  needed  correction 
will  be  found  in  considering  the  disadvantages. 

Disadvantages.  —  The  artistic  element  may 
easily  be  superior  to  the  practical :  this  both  in 
the  form  of  the  sermon  and  in  the  language 
chosen. 

"  The  scholastic  subtleties,  which  the  theolo- 
gian in  his  study  can  hardly  avoid,"  may  creep 
into  the  sermon.  The  sermon  may  be  regarded 
as  a  form  of  truth  and  not  solely  an  instrument 
of  service. 

In  the  quiet  of  the  study,  away  from  the 
needs  of  men,  it  is  easy  to  gratify  one's  artistic 
sense  and  forget  the  speech  that  will  convey 
the  most  of  message  and  sympathy.  The 
written  sermon  may  minister  to  a  class  and  not 
to  the  people. 

The  written  sermon  is  fixed  and  cannot  be 
easily  changed  to  meet  the  present  need  of  the 
audience.  Any  sudden  response  from  the  au- 
dience, any  change  in  the  message  through  the 
quickened  thought  of  the  preacher,  cannot 
easily  find  a  place  in  the  sermon.  If  the  new 
suggestion  is  expressed,  the  extemporaneous 
speech  may  be  a  jar  that   breaks   more   than 


286  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

quickens  the  thought.  McCheyne's  habit  of 
leaving  the  conclusion  to  the  freedom  and  im- 
pulse of  the  moment  is  the  exception  and  not 
the  law  of  effective  speech. 

Furthermore,  the  mind  intent  on  giving  the 
written  message  is  not  so  sensitive  to  the  pres- 
ence and  needs  of  men,  —  the  reflex  influence 
of  the  audience  is  very  small.  The  mind  is  not 
so  active  and  alert,  it  follows  the  prepared 
course  of  thought,  it  is  not  quickened  by 
attention  and  the  effort  to  put  thought  into 
the  best  words,  and  so  is  not  so  open  to  the 
messages  of  the  Spirit.  And  the  sermon  may 
not  be  felt  as  a  present  and  living  message,  a 
word  from  the  heart  of  the  preacher  to  the 
hearts  of  men. 

Then  the  delivery  may  be  affected  by  the 
reading  of  the  sermon.  The  eye  on  the  paper, 
often  the  slight  stooping  to  catch  the  meaning 
of  a  line,  is  not  the  natural  position  of  speaking. 
The  voice  is  injured  from  the  cramped  position 
of  the  vocal  organs.  It  has  a  too  regular  tone 
and  movement,  lacking  the  spontaneity  and 
flexibleness  of  face  to  face  speech.  The 
reader  of  sermons  is  more  often  an  unnatural 
speaker. 

But  the  disadvantages  of  the  written  sermon 
should  be  no  obstacle  to  the  man  who  decides 


Preaching  with  Manuscript  287 

upon  this  method  as  the  best.     They  can  all  be 
made  spurs  to  success. 

The  Conditions  of  Success.  —  Writing  does 
not  inevitably  insure  the  best  thought  and  the 
best  expression  of  thought.  There  may  be  a 
kind  of  extemporaneous  writing,  with  all  the 
faults  of  unpremeditated  speech.  Careless  writ- 
ing is  as  bad  as  careless  speaking.  Only  careful 
writing,  with  rigorous  criticism,  has  the  promise 
of  success. 

It  is  a  gain  to  write  as  rapidly  and  consecu- 
tively as  possible,  that  the  sermon  may  glow 
and  pulse  with  life  and  have  the  oral  style.  It 
would  give  clearness,  directness,  and  vigor  to 
the  sermon  if  it  could  be  thought  out  before 
pen  were  put  to  paper.  Men  often  spend  too 
much  time  on  their  sermons  ;  they  lack  the 
concentration  of  thought  as  they  write  ;  they 
do  not  compel  the  mind  to  do  its  work,  and  so 
the  sermon  lacks  direction  and  movement :  it 
has  a  nerveless  quality,  a  patchwork  effect. 

The  manuscript  should  be  thoroughly  studied 
with  the  eye  to  inflection  and  emphasis  and 
action,  how  the  thought  may  be  the  most  vocal. 
The  man  should  be  possessed  with  the  message, 
by  meditation  and  prayer  work  himself  into  the 
life  of  the  thought  again,  as  when  it  came  first 


288  Preaching  with  Manuscript 

as  a  glad  surprise  or  was  attained  as  a  painful 
discipline.  He  should  be  so  familiar  with  it  all 
that  in  the  moment  of  action  he  never  need  to 
think  how  he  is  speaking. 

And  finally  we  should  speak  in  a  natural 
voice  and  manner  directly  to  men,  gaining  the 
power  of  glancing  at  the  page,  and  keeping  the 
eye  on  the  audience.  There  is  a  difference 
between  ordinary  reading  and  speaking,  but  it 
should  not  hold  in  preaching.  Preaching  is 
speaking.  Reading  is  not  preaching.  The 
manuscript  must  not  be  a  nonconductor.  It  is 
possible  to  preach  so  that  the  audience  will  for- 
get the  paper. 


LECTURE   XV 
EXTEMPORANEOUS  PREACHING 


OUTLINE 

"  He  knows  what  he  is  going  to  say,  hut  does  not  know  how 
he  will  say  it."  The  whole  man  ought  to  speak.  If  the  paper 
is  a  nonconductor,  then  it  should  be  laid  aside.  A  matter  of 
temperament,  opportunity,  and  training. 

1.  The  advantages. 

a  It  is  regarded  as  the  ideal  method.  When  well  done, 
it  is  the  best.    "  He  who  can  speak  is  a  man." 

b  The  audience  checks  the  mere  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  the  truth.    The  sermon  becomes  practical. 

c  It  helps  to  proper  repetition,  illustration,  and  expan- 
sion of  truth. 

d  The  delivery  has  the  personal  quality. 

e  The  freedom,  swiftness,  versatility  of  a  quickened 
nature. 

/  Many  occasions  demand  extemporaneous  preaching. 

g  The  ease  and  fruitfulness  of  the  method.  The  facility 
in  the  preparation  of  sermons;  the  time  saved  for 
wider  study. 

2.  The  disadvantages.  Hasty,  superficial  preparation,  inac- 
curate speech,  wrong  proportion.  "  A  grain  of  thought  to 
a  bushel  of  words." 

3.  The  conditions  of  success. 

a  A  sound  and  disciplined  body ;  all  vital  energies  in 
easy  and  healthful  play. 

6  Mastery  of  mental  and  vocal  powers. 

c   Hard  and  constant  study  of  the  materials  of  sermons. 

d  A  clear  and  full  outline. 

e  Language  from  the  moment.  Anxiety  about  ideas, 
not  words.  Yet  the  writing  of  critical  parts.  The 
habit  of  John  Bright. 

/  A  constant  student  of  style.  English  a  lifelong  dis- 
cipline. 

4.  Other  methods. 

a  Memoriter. 

b  Free  speaking  after  writing. 
c   Suggestions  as  to  personal  method. 
References  : 

Broadus.    "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."   pp.  425-430. 

Spurgeon.     "  Lectures."    I,  10. 

Storrs.    "  Preaching  without  Notes." 

Pattison.    "  The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    21, 22. 

Dale.    "Yale  Lectures."    6. 

290 


LECTUKE   XV 

EXTEMPORANEOUS   PREACHING 

We  must  not  be  partisan  in  our  views  of  the 
best  way  of  preaching,  nor  decide  our  own 
method  from  a  superficial  view  of  preaching 
or  a  hasty  judgment  of  our  own  powers.  We 
must  look  at  all  sides  of  the  question  with  the 
scientific  spirit,  —  what  others  have  done  with 
success,  what  are  the  special  needs  of  the  pulpit 
to-day,  and  what  we  can  do  the  best,  judged  by 
an  honest  self -look  and  thorough  trial. 

"  He  knows  what  he  is  going  to  say,  but  does 
not  know  how  he  will  say  it,"  is  an  excellent 
definition  of  extemporaneous  preaching.  It 
supposes  most  thorough  study  and  mastery 
of  the  materials  of  the  sermon  ;  even  the  exact 
order  of  their  use,  and  then  entire  freedom  in 
the  expression  of  the  truth. 

A  man  ought  to  speak,  if  he  preaches,  what- 
ever method  he  may  use.  If  preaching  is  God's 
word  through  a  man,  then  the  whole  man  ought 
to  speak.  If  the  personality  is  the  freest  and 
fullest,  most  vital,  when  it  speaks  through  a 
291 


292  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

paper,  then  let  the  man  read.  But  if  the 
paper  is  a  nonconductor,  if  he  cannot  bring 
his  entire  personality  to  bear  upon  men,  then 
the  manuscript  ought  to  be  thrown  aside. .  No 
man  has  a  right  to  be  a  slave  to  a  false  method. 
He  must  be  in  free  communion  with  his  audi- 
ence and  receive  from  them,  as  well  as  give  to 
them. 

"  Shall  I  write  my  sermons,  or  shall  I  ex- 
temporize ?  is  the  ever  open  question.  That 
depends  to  a  very  considerable  extent  upon  a 
man's  temperament.  If  he  be  extremely  sensi- 
tive and  fastidious  by  nature,  and,  withal,  some- 
what secretive  and  cautious,  it  would  frequently 
be  almost  impossible  for  him  to  extemporize 
with  fluency.  Sometimes  men  are  so  oppressed 
under  the  influence  of  an  audience  that  they 
cannot  possibly  think  in  its  presence. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  men  of  fruitfulness  in 
thought,  of  ardor  in  feeling,  courageous  men, 
who  are  helped  by  a  sense  of  difficulty  and  dan- 
ger, will  be  roused  by  the  necessity  of  exertion 
and  find  their  best  powers  of  eloquence  devel- 
oped by  their  face-to-face  dealing  with  an  audi- 
ence."1 

What,  then,  are  the  advantages  of  the  extem- 
poraneous method  ? 

1  Beecher,  "Yale  Lectures." 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  293 

Advantages.  —  When  well  done  it  is  generally- 
regarded  as  the  best.  In  all  spheres  of  public 
speech  it  has  been  regarded  as  the  ideal  method. 
"He  who  can  speak  is  a  man,"  said  Luther. 
"  How  can  you  expect  your  hearers  to  remem- 
ber what,  but  for  your  book,  you  are  afraid  you 
should  yourself  forget  ?  "  says  Cotton  Mather. 
A  keen  frontiersman  said  admiringly  of  Bishop 
Mead  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  that 
"he  was  the  first  one  of  those  petticoated  fel- 
lows he  had  ever  seen  who  could  shoot  without 
a  rest."  Even  the  desire  of  a  cultivated  audi- 
ence for  finish  and  beauty  of  form  is  soon  for- 
gotten in  the  grasp  of  the  man  who  speaks 
right  on  with  simple  and  fervid  directness. 

The  man  is  checked  by  the  audience  from 
the  mere  intellectual  development  of  the  truth. 
The  personal  taste  gives  place  to  the  personal 
need  of  the  people.  Not  the  unfolding  of  truth 
from  within,  not  the  symmetrical  work  of 
thought;  but  thought  and  form  tested  and 
judged  by  its  practical  uses  of  instruction  and 
help. 

In  the  study,  the  student  is  apt  to  be  master. 
Without  knowing  it,  the  minister  may  pursue 
a  course  of  thought  that  seems  to  himself  of 
the  highest  interest  and  value,  and  when 
written  it  will  be  preached  just  as  prepared. 


294  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

But  when  spoken  extempore,  the  preacher 
can  judge  of  the  interest  of  the  audience.  An 
indifferent  look,  a  nodding  head,  will  be  a 
sharp  indicator  of  its  appropriateness.  And 
the  thought  of  the  sermon  may  be  changed  to 
meet  the  unconscious  demand  of  men. 

Akin  to  this  is  the  knowledge  one  gets  from 
an  audience  in  extempore  speech  of  repetition, 
illustration,  and  expansion  of  truth.  A  true 
speaker  is  sensitive.  This  very  capacity  of 
keen  sensitiveness  is  an  element  of  effective- 
ness. His  own  feeling  will  be  a  perfect 
barometer  of  the  condition  of  the  faces  before 
him.  Shall  he  illustrate  this  truth  rather 
than  continue  a  course  of  reasoning  ?  His 
audience  will  tell  him.  Shall  he  expand  this 
point,  and  repeat  this  truth  in  other  forms, 
with  other  relations,  so  that  every  mind  before 
him  shall  understand?  The  audience  will  tell 
him.  His  eye  is  upon  them  ;  and  the  response 
in  their  faces  will  tell  him  how  to  make  truth 
effective. 

The  written  sermon  is  apt  to  be  concise,  to 
avoid  repetition  :  the  tendency  to  conciseness 
at  the  expense  of  clearness.  But  the  tendency 
of  the  extempore  speaker  is  to  be  diffuse.  And 
a  certain  amplification  —  more  than  we  gener- 
ally give  —  is  necessary  for  the  popular  mind. 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  295 

Lawyers  understand  the  use  of  repetition,  and 
do  not  hesitate  to  repeat  until  every  juryman 
is  impressed.  "We  often  see,"  says  a  modern 
preacher,  "  as  we  go  on  in  our  discourse,  from 
the  straining  attention  of  some  in  the  crowd, 
that  we  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  what  we 
have  spoken.  Are  we,  then,  to  go  forward, 
without  making  another  attempt  with  some 
change  of  address  or  variety  of  image? "  Here 
the  extempore  preacher  has  the  advantage  for 
more  freedom. 

Dr.  Johnson  said  to  Boswell :  "This,  sir, 
you  must  enlarge  on;  you  must  not  argue 
there  as  if  to  the  schools.  You  must  say  the 
same  thing  over  and  over  again  in  different 
words.  If  you  say  it  but  once,  they  miss  it  in 
a  moment  of  inattention." 

Pitt  expressed  the  same  thought,  "Every 
person  who  addressed  a  public  assembly,  and 
was  anxious  to  make  an  impression  upon  par- 
ticular points,  must  either  be  copious  upon 
some  points  or  else  repeat  them,  and  copious- 
ness is  to  be  preferred  to  repetition."  Here  is 
the  reason  that  a  sermon,  good  to  hear,  is  not 
always  good  to  read.  Lord  Brougham  saw  this : 
"The  orator  often  feels  that  he  could  add 
'strength  to  his  composition  by  compression; 
but  his  hearers  would   then   be   unwilling  to 


296  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

keep  pace  with  him,  and  he   is  compelled  to 
sacrifice  conciseness  to  clearness." 

A  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  once  said 
to  Charles  G.  Finney  :  "  Ministers  do  not  ex- 
ercise good  sense  in  addressing  the  people. 
They  are  afraid  of  repetition.  They  use  lan- 
guage not  well  understood  by  the  common  peo- 
ple. Their  illustrations  are  not  taken  from 
the  common  pursuits  of  life.  They  write  in 
too  elevated  a  style,  and  read  without  repeti- 
tion, and  are  not  understood  by  the  people. 
Now,  if  lawyers  should  take  such  a  course,  they 
would  ruin  themselves  and  their  cause.  When 
I  was  at  the  bar,  I  used  to  take  it  for  granted, 
when  I  had  before  me  a  jury  of  respectable 
men,  that  I  should  have  to  repeat  over  my 
main  positions  about  as  many  times  as  there 
were  persons  in  the  jury-box.  I  learned  that 
unless  I  did  so,  illustrated  and  repeated  and 
turned  the  main  points  over,  —  the  main  points 
of  law  and  evidence,  —  I  should  lose  my  cause. 
Now,  if  ministers  would  do  this,  the  effects  of 
their  preaching  would  be  unspeakably  different 
from  what  they  are." 

And  quaint  Andrew  Fuller  has  the  final 
word,  "Without  a  fair  proportion  of  chaff 
the  horse  is  apt  to  bolt  his  oats." 

The  style  gains  ease,  directness,  and  vigor. 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  297 

It  loses  in  precision  and  beauty,  but  gains  in  the 
best  elements  of  conversation.  Wendell  Phil- 
lips has  called  oratory  "animated  conversation." 
Dr.  Hitchcock's  style  must  be  read.  No  mind 
could  produce  continuously  such  keen,  accurate, 
pictorial  speech.     It  only  grows  with  the  pen. 

The  delivery  has  the  personal  quality.  The 
eye  finds  the  eye  of  the  hearer.  The  face  speaks 
with  the  message.  The  tones  of  the  voice,  the 
action  of  the  body,  all  partake  more  of  the  per- 
sonal quality  :  a  word  to  men. 

The  sermon  is  felt  to  be  not  a  discussion 
about  truth,  but  the  voice  of  truth  itself.  The 
audience  are  held  and  moved  by  the  outpouring 
of  a  life.  So  the  whole  man  will  speak,  as 
rarely  in  the  written  sermon. 

There  are  certain  states  of  mind  of  transcen- 
dent importance  to  the  extempore  speaker.  He 
is  quickened  by  his  audience.  He  perceives 
the  minute  and  subtle  changes  and  influences 
from  them.  He  is  determined  on  mastery.  He 
feels  the  importance  of  the  truth.  And  he 
throws  his  whole  manhood  upon  the  audience. 
At  times  the  sermon  may  gain  the  highest 
elements  possible  for  public  speech,  —  a  free- 
dom, swiftness,  versatility,  and  spiritual  rush. 

Then  some  occasions  demand  extempore 
speaking,    such   as    the    prayer    meeting,   the 


298  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

funeral  service,  public  conference,  moments  of 
great  religious  interest.  The  minister  who 
cannot  lay  aside  his  manuscript  at  such  times 
is  greatly  hampered. 

And  finally,  here  is  ease  and  fruitfulness  of 
method.  It  saves  time  for  gathering  materials. 
The  habit  is  formed  of  finding  sermons  every- 
where. The  trained  mind  quickly  shapes  the 
materials  into  form,  and  the  occasion  brings 
the  oral  expression.  No  long  hours  of  writing 
are  demanded.  And  the  time  is  gained  for 
systematic  study  of  the  Bible,  and  acquaintance 
with  the  thought  of  the  world  :  and  so  the 
pulpit  never  runs  dry,  the  sermons  never  lack 
in  variety  and  fulness. 

The  genius  of  a  Spurgeon  or  a  Beecher 
would  never  have  given  the  world  the  riches 
of  thought  had  writing  been  the  method  of 
preparation. 

"  We  do  not  desire  to  have  preaching  made 
less  thorough  or  less  instructive,  but  it  is  desir- 
able that  it  should  be  less  burdensome.  Many 
and  many  a  minister  is  a  prisoner  all  the  week 
to  his  two  sermons.  In  them  he  has  poured 
his  whole  life,  and  when  they  are  done  there  is 
little  of  him  left  for  pastoral  labors  and  social 
life.  Few  men  there  are  who  are  upborne  and 
carried  forward  by  their  sermons.      Few  men 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  299 

ascend,  as  the  prophet  did,  in  a  chariot  of  fire. 
The  majority  of  preachers  are  consciously 
harnessed,  and  draw  heavily  and  long  at  the 
sermon,  which  tugs  behind  them.  In  every 
way,  then,  it  is  desirable  that  preaching  should 
be  made  more  easy,  that  men  should  learn  to 
take  advantage  of  their  own  temperament,  and 
that  they  should  learn  the  best  plans  and 
methods. " 2 

Disadvantages.  —  The  chief  disadvantages 
are  implied  in  the  excellence  of  the  written 
sermon,  and  need  often  to  be  stated  as  warning 
signals.  Hasty,  superficial  preparation,  inac- 
curate speech,  wrong  proportion  :  such  ser- 
mons are  like  Gratiano's  reasons  —  a  grain  of 
thought  to  a  bushel  of  words.  It  is  said  of 
Lacordaire  that  even  he  with  his  wonderful 
powers  did  not  altogether  escape  the  perils  of 
the  extempore  preacher :  "  Sometimes  too  em- 
phatic, sometimes  too  declamatory  ;  logic  some- 
times weak  and  confused,  he  rarely  achieved 
the  perfect  beauty  which  comes  from  perfect 
simplicity." 

The  Conditions   of  Success.  —  The  faults  of 
extemporaneous  speaking  are  so  common  that 
they  have   prejudiced  thoughtful  men  against 
1  Beecher,  Vol.  I,  p.  211. 


300  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

the  method.  But  the  faults  are  not  necessary. 
And  many  a  man,  who  is  now  a  poor  reader  of 
sermons,  if  he  had  Disraeli's  spirit  of  "I  will 
be  heard,"  might  become  an  effective  face  to 
face  preacher.  The  conditions  of  success  can 
be  met  by  a  consecrated  will. 

Such  speaking  demands  a  sound  and  dis- 
ciplined body,  all  the  vital  energies  in  easy 
and  healthful  play.  A  small  and  frail  body 
is  almost  a  fatal  handicap.  It  has  become  a 
proverb  that  the  orator  must  have  a  good 
stomach.  Health  or  disease  sounds  in  the 
tones  of  the  voice.  Robust  health  is  to  be 
desired  for  what  Beecher  so  well  calls  the 
"thrust  power  of  the  voice. "  Nowhere  more 
than  in  the  pulpit  is  the  best  work  the  result 
of  a  buoyant,  tireless  energy.  The  expenditure 
of  physical  life  is  so  much  greater  in  extempore 
speaking,  the  nervous  strain,  the  demand  for 
the  free  and  spontaneous  response  to  the  will, 
that  only  a  full  physical  life  can  meet  the 
demand. 

"  The  frame  so  weak,  sharp  sickness  hue, 
And  this  pale  cheek  God  loves  in  you," 

is  no  longer  the  misconception  of  the  ministry. 
But  the  development  of  a  frail  body  into  manly 
vigor,  the  daily  discipline  of  food  and  sleep  and 
exercise  that  shall  keep  the  physical  life  at  the 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  301 

highest,  the  daily  training  of  the  voice  that 
shall  make  it  the  best  instrument  of  the  soul  — 
this  is  often  neglected  by  the  pressure  of  duty 
or  by  sheer  laziness ;  and  this  discipline  is  the 
condition  of  the  highest  success  in  extempore 
preaching. 

A  second  condition  is  the  development  and 
mastery  of  the  mental  powers.  Good  extem- 
pore speaking  is  intellectual  work  of  the  high- 
est and  hardest  kind.  A  man  needs  to  gain 
the  power  of  logical  and  consecutive  thinking, 
the  self-mastery  that  shall  not  be  deterred  or 
deflected  by  any  circumstance,  the  alertness  of 
mind  to  perceive  the  need  of  men  and  respond 
to  it.  All  that  cultivates  the  reasoning  powers, 
all  that  makes  a  well-furnished  mind,  comes 
into  play.  The  difficulty  of  expression  is 
psychical  not  physical.  And  the  will  must 
be  strong  to  command  the  other  faculties  to 
do  their  work.  The  will  is  at  fault  where 
men  fail  to  do  their  best  and  to  hold  the  at- 
tention of  the  audience.  "  The  public  speaker 
is  dependent  upon  himself  for  the  use  of  his 
will,  for  knowing  what  he  is  about,  for  making 
the  most  of  himself,  for  the  physical  and  mental 
conditions  essential  to  his  success."  * 

It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  natural  fluency 

1  Nathan  Sheppard,  "  Before  an  Audience,"  p.  41. 


302  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

is  necessary  for  good  speaking.  Such  gifts  are 
often  allied  with  a  fatal  indolence.  "  Elo- 
quence is  a  gift  which  the  Lord  does  not  often 
use  much  for  His  purposes  ;  it  is  a  prancing  pal- 
frey which  the  Son  of  man  rarely  rides.  .  .  . 
Natural  eloquence  may  easily  be  a  snare  to  a 
preacher.  Words  may  come  so  abundantly 
that  he  will  not  wait  to  hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord."1     ■ 

Success  can  only  be  gained  after  long  and 
strenuoiis  discipline.  Training  finds  its  high- 
est end  in  preaching ;  the  preacher  is  the  whole 
man  speaking. 

There  is  also  the  need  of  the  hard  and  con- 
stant study  of  the  materials  of  sermons.  The 
time  saved  from  writing  must  be  devoted  to 
the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  mastery  of 
great  books  of  religion  and  literature.  "The 
preacher  determines  to  deliver  his  sermon  ex- 
tempore :  is  this  to  exempt  him  from  prepara- 
tion, from  arrangement,  from  the  selection  of 
those  words  which  will  most  happily  and  com- 
prehensively convey  his  meaning  ?  In  this  case, 
also,  is  there  not  to  be  labor  ?  —  labor,  the  text 
turns  in  your  soul,  does  it  not?  It  is  like  a 
fire  in  the  bones.  It  requires  more  study  to 
do  justice  to  unwritten  than  to  written  ser- 
i  Horton,  "  Verbum  Dei,"  p.  176. 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  303 

mons."  1  And  Alexander  Maclaren  makes  the 
same  testimony,  that  his  method  is  no  saving 
of  labor. 

A  clear  and  full  outline  is  another  requisite 
for  extempore  preaching.  More  material  is 
needed  than  in  written  sermons  to  meet  emer- 
gencies, and  the  detailed  steps  are  to  be  planned 
that  the  discourse  may  not  lack  in  clearness  and 
order.  The  plan  should  be  a  working  plan,  and 
so  thoroughly  memorized  that  it  will  come  to 
mind  without  conscious  effort.  Any  failure  to 
recall  is  good  evidence  of  a  lack  of  order  in  the 
thought.  The  plan  should  be  memorized,  for 
the  use  of  notes  may  be  as  much  of  a  hindrance 
to  the  free  expression  of  the  man  and  the  mes- 
sage as  the  use  of  a  manuscript. 

It  may  be  helpful  to  write  critical  sentences, 
as  the  closing  words  of  an  argument  or  an 
illustration  on  which  the  impression  of  truth 
depends.  Mr.  Bright  always  wrote  his  intro- 
ductions as  it  gave  him  assurance  of  a  good 
beginning,  and  the  habit  never  interfered  with 
his  freedom. 

Let  the  language  be  from  the  moment.    Make 

no  effort  to  recall  words.     Never  criticise  your 

own  words  in  the  act  of  speaking.    Do  not  repeat 

because  of  trifling  mistake.     Grasp  the  thought 

1  Paxton-Hood,  "  Lamps,  Pitchers,  and  Trumpets,"  p.  110. 


304  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

firmly  and  let  the  sentences  care  for  them- 
selves. Pitt  said  to  a  young  man  struggling 
with  his  first  speeches  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons: "My  Lord,  you  are  not  so  successful 
as  you  ought  to  be,  and  the  reason,  as  I  con- 
ceive, is  this:  you  are  more  anxious  about 
words  than  about  ideas.  You  do  not  consider 
that  if  you  are  thinking  of  words,  you  will  have 
no  ideas ;  but  if  you  have  ideas,  words  will  come 
of  themselves." 

Be  a  constant  student  of  style.  Clear,  strong, 
racy,  picturesque,  musical  English  is  to  be  a 
lifelong  discipline.  Get  words,  not  remark- 
able ones,  but  common  words  and  pure  that 
escape  the  thought.  "  There  is  no  reason  why, 
when  you  have  at  your  service  the  noblest  lan- 
guage for  an  orator  that  was  ever  spoken  by 
the  human  race,  you  should  be  satisfied  with 
the  threadbare  phrases,  the  tawdry,  tarnished 
finery,  the  patched  and  ragged  garments  with 
the  smell  like  that  of  the  stock  of  a  second- 
hand clothes  shop,  with  which  half-educated 
and  ambitious  declaimers  are  content  to  cover 
the  nakedness  of  their  thought.  You  can  do 
something  better  than  this,  and  you  should 
resolve  to  do  it."  * 

Finally,  forget  not  the  spiritual  conditions 
1  Dale,  "  Yale  Lectures,"  p.  171. 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  305 

of  meditation  and  prayer  and  a  faithful  life, 
the  sense  of  man's  need  and  the  divineness  of 
the  word,  above  all,  the  assurance  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Christ.  All  preaching  needs  this, 
especially  the  preaching  that  leans  upon  no 
outward  helps.  "  It  will  inspire  in  us  the  true 
enthusiasm — the  God  within  us — which  is  like 
the  flame  shining  within  the  transparent  vase, 
and  revealing  itself  through  all  exterior  lines  and 
tints.  When  this  is  kindled  and  constantly 
burns  in  any  soul,  it  makes  effort  easy,  success 
sure ;  it  is  itself  a  power  for  God,  manifesting 
His  glory  through  all  the  faculties  which  His 
Spirit  illumines."1 

Other  Methods.  —  The  memoriter  method  has 
been  common  in  the  Scotch  pulpit  and  is  prac- 
tised by  many  in  our  own  land.  It  adds  the 
virtue  of  better  speaking  to  the  written  sermon. 
It  has  the  disadvantage  of  training  the  memory, 
sometimes  at  the  expense  of  other  faculties  more 
important.  An  equal  demand  upon  the  reason- 
ing powers  would  make  an  effective  extempo- 
raneous preacher.  Then  memoriter  speaking 
rarely  has  the  virtues  of  the  extemporaneous. 
The  mind  is  too  absorbed  in  recollecting  to  give 
itself  to  the  power  of  the  truth  or  the  needs  of 
1  Storrs,  "  Preaching  without  Notes,"  p.  188. 


306  Extemporaneous  Preaching 

an  audience,  and  the  speaking  is  apt  to  have  a 
tone  of  declamation  that  lacks  the  directness 
and  spontaneity  of  life. 

Free  speaking  after  writing. 

The  message  is  carefully  written  out,  often 
more  written  than  can  be  spoken  ;  then  a  speak- 
ing outline  is  made  and  committed  to  memory, 
the  sermon  carefully  thought  through  and  then 
spoken  without  notes.  It  combines  most  of  the 
advantages  of  the  written  and  extemporaneous 
methods.  There  are  the  accuracy  and  fulness 
of  thought,  the  training  in  expression,  and  the 
freedom  and  naturalness  of  speaking.  At  first 
the  preacher  will  be  hampered  by  the  attempt 
to  remember,  but  this  will  pass  away  by  expe- 
rience, as  the  man  is  able  to  give  himself  more 
fully  to  the  quickening  influence  of  thinking 
and  speaking  the  truth.  There  must  be  no 
conscious  effort  to  recollect.  It  is  a  costly 
method  in  every  way,  and  effective  in  propor- 
tion to  the  cost. 

Suggestions  as  to  personal  method. 

Each  man  should  follow  what  he  can  do  the 
best.  The  choice  should  not  be  a  matter  of 
accident  or  thoughtlessness,  but  the  result  of 
experience  and  self-knowledge.  While  free- 
dom and  ease  are  always  to  be  desired,  the  man 
must  not  follow  the  line  of  least   resistance. 


Extemporaneous  Preaching  307 

The  easiest  method  may  not  be  the  best  in  the 
end  Unless  a  young  man  write  somewhat  on 
his  sermons,  he  will  find  little  time  to  write  at 
all  And  unless  he  write,  he  will  hardly  grow 
in  the  use  of  speech.  Therefore,  it  seems  the 
part  of  wisdom,  for  the  early  years  of  one's 
ministry,  to  write  some  of  the  sermons,  what- 
ever be  the  method  of  delivery,  and  to  make 
only  a  plan  for  others.  In  this  way  the 
preacher  will  come  to  himself  and  his  king- 
dom. 


LECTUEE   XVI 

THE   ORAL  STYLE 


OUTLINE 

1.  The  essay  and  the  sermon. 

a  The  good  sermon  style  more  difficult.  The  preacher 
must  hold  the  attention  and  quicken  the  interest  of 
men.    The  two  styles,  to  a  degree,  exclude  each  other. 

b  The  small  literature  upon  the  subject. 

2.  Examples  of  the  oral  style :   Wendell  Phillips,  Alexander 
Maclaren,  R.  D.  Hitchcock. 

3.  Marks  of  the  oral  style. 

a  It  has  the  personal  marks  of  a  conversation. 

b  Short  and  simple  sentences  will  prevail.    The  structure 

will  be  broken  by  sudden  flashes  of  thought  and  feeling. 
c  Means  to  prepare  the  course  of  the  thought  and  hold 

attention.      Announcement    of    plan,   conversational 

clauses  and  repetition  for  the  sake  of  clearness  and 

force. 
d  The  speech  will  be  more  pictorial;   the  more  frequent 

use  of  figures  of  thought  and  structure. 
e  The  frequent  use  of  the  interrogative  is  implied  in  the 

sermon  as  a  conversation. 

1.  The  interrogative  appeals  to  the  intelligence  of  the 

hearers. 

2.  It  is  a  personal  appeal.    The  questions  must  be  such 

as  would  get  an  immediate  answer. 

3.  Questions   keep  the  audience  before  the   preacher, 

help  him  to  speak,  and  compel  variety  in  the  use 
of  the  voice. 

4.  Suggestions. 

a  The  formation  of   sentences  determines  the  mode  of 

their  delivery.  You  cannot  speak  an  essay. 
b  While  preparing  a  sermon  realize  the  presence  of  an 
audience.  Examples  of  Chalmers,  Guthrie,  Lyman 
Beecher,  R.  D.  Hitchcock.  Eloquence  is  a  social  vir- 
tue. "The  sermon  is  not  to  be  something  but  to  do 
something."  The  expectant,  yearning  faces  of  the 
people,  in  their  toil  and  struggle,  their  sin  and  suffer- 
ing, their  hope  and  fears,  should  haunt  the  pastor  as, 
with  pen  in  hand,  he  is  trying  to  answer  their  appeal 
and  provide  for  their  living  needs. 
References  : 

"The  Differences  between  the  Oratorical  and  Rhe- 
torical Styles."     The  Presbyterian  Review.    10. 
General  references  to  style : 
Paxton-Hood.    "  Lamps,  Pitchers,  and  Trumpets." 

Vol.  I,  9. 
Phelps.    "  English  Style  in  Public  Discourse." 
A.S.Hill.     "  Our  English."    4. 
Dale.    "  Yale  Lectures."    6. 
Pattison.    "  The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    13. 

310 


LECTUEE   XVI 

THE   ORAL   STYLE 

Is  there  a  true  distinction  between  the  oral 
style  and  the  essay  style  ?  I  am  sure  that  we 
all  feel  that  there  is ;  but  can  it  be  stated  so 
clearly  that  it  will  form  a  working  theory  of 
life  ?     That's  the  question. 

The  Essay  and  the  Sermon.  —  Our  studies, 
our  habits  of  thought,  as  far  as  they  affect  our 
style,  inevitably  tend  to  the  essay  style  :  that 
is,  a  style  that  is  formed  for  the  eye  and  satis- 
fies the  intellectual  nature.  A  young  man  is 
more  familiar  with  books  than  the  hearts  of 
men.  The  thoughts  that  have  stirred  him, 
moulded  him,  have  come  through  books. 
Whether  he  will  or  not,  he  is  thus  far  espe- 
cially interested  in  truths  —  the  interest  in 
individual  lives  is  a  purpose  —  not  yet  the 
motive  of  all  the  thinking  and  speaking.  And 
so  the  natural  tendency  is  to  write  to  the  eye 
rather  than  the  ear,  and  some  men  go  out  of  the 
seminary  and  on  through  the  years  of  their 
311 


312  The   Oral  Style 

ministry  preaching  essays,  but  not  in  the  best 
sense  sermons.  I  would  like  to  save  you,  if 
possible,  from  a  false  ideal,  and  so  from  a  need- 
less limitation  of  power. 

To  write  so  that  it  can  be  easily  read  is  a 
different  thing  —  an  easier  thing  —  than  to 
write  so  that  it  can  be  easily  heard.  When 
men  sit  down  to  read,  they  feel  some  responsi- 
bility for  attention.  They  are  willing  to  re- 
read and  ponder  to  get  the  exact  thought.  But 
is  it  so  with  the  listener  ?  We  know  that  the 
speaker  must  not  only  hold  but  quicken  inter- 
est and  attention.  The  audience  often  assume 
that  the  responsibility  of  attention  is  with  the 
preacher.  And  he  must  therefore  use  those 
elements  of  style  that  open  the  ear-gate,  and 
keep  it  open.  To  write  for  the  ear  rather  than 
the  eye  is  a  maxim  of  gold  for  the  preacher.  \ 

In  fact,  men  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  two 
styles  largely  exclude  each  other.  "Reading 
sermons,"  says  Phillips  Brooks,  "is  like  listen- 
ing to  an  echo.  The  words  are  there,  but  the 
personal  intonation  is  gone  out  of  them  and 
there  is  an  unreality  about  it  all.  Now  and 
then  you  find  sermons  which  do  not  suggest 
their  ever  having  been  preached,  and  they  give 
you  none  of  this  feeling.  But  they  were  not 
good  sermons,  scarcely  even  real  sermons,  when 


The   Oral  Style  313 

they  were  preached.  In  general,  it  is  true 
that  the  sermon  which  is  good  to  preach  is 
poor  to  read,  and  the  sermon  which  is  good  to 
read  is  poor  to  preach." 

What  has  been  written  on  this  important 
matter  of  the  difference  between  oral  and  essay 
style  ?  Very  little,  and  that  but  fragmentary, 
you  will  have  to  say,  after  a  study  of  the  prin- 
cipal works  on  Homiletics. 

Dr.  Broadus  has  but  a  single  reference  under 
the  general  observations  on  style,  p.  338.  He 
is  writing  of  practice  in  speaking  as  a  means  of 
good  style.  "  A  man  may  closely  imitate  in 
writing  the  style  of  speaking,  but  the  two  are 
really  distinct."  (This  cannot  be  accepted  as 
necessarily  true.)  "Let  one  always  have  a 
practical  purpose,  and  throw  himself  into  an 
effort,  not  to  make  a  discourse,  but  to  accomplish 
his  object.  Let  him  closely  observe  his  hearers, 
and  learn  to  perceive  when  they  understand 
and  are  impressed.  He  will  thus  become  able 
to  judge  when  to  be  diffuse  and  when  rapid, 
and  will  acquire  the  directness  of  address,  the 
power  of  constant  movement  toward  a  fixed 
point,  the  passionate  energy  and  unstudied 
grace,  the  [flexibility  and  variety  which  char- 
acterize the  speaking  style." 

Dr.  Phelps,  in  his  "English  Style  in  Public 


314  The  Oral  Style 

Discourse,"  speaks  of  the  effect  of  delivery 
on  style,  in  which  he  touches  a  part  of  the 
question,  p.   316  : 

"  You  write  a  sermon  addressed  to  one  man 
in  your  audience ;  you  know  his  spiritual  con- 
dition ;  you  have  in  mind  the  locality  in  which 
he  sits  in  church  ;  you  have  his  countenance 
before  you  as  you  write  ;  you  preach  not  only 
about  him  but  to  him  ;  you  foresee  that  in  the 
application  of  your  discourse  you  shall  rise  to 
your  full  height,  and  lift  your  voice,  or  lower 
it,  to  its  most  earnest  key,  and  shall  endeavor 
by  look  and  tone  and  gesture  and  attitude  to 
make  him  feel  that  you  mean  him.  Do  you 
think  it  possible  that  you  can  have  that  scene 
before  you  in  prophetic  vision,  and  with  the 
moral  sensibilities  appropriate  to  it  alert  in 
your  heart,  and  yet  can  sit  with  the  dulness 
of  a  clam  at  your  study  table,  and  reel  off  a 
style  like  '  Abraham  begat  Isaac,  and  Isaac  be- 
gat Jacob,  and  Jacob  begat  Reuben,'  and  so  on? 
'No  style  is  worth  a  farthing,'  quoting  from 
Mr.  Hazlitt,  which  will  not  bear  comparison 
with  spiritual  colloquy."  Again,  on  p.  340,  Dr. 
Phelps  touches  some  points  of  oral  style  in  the 
discussion  of  naturalness. 

"  Precisely  what  it  is,"  he  says,  "  which  con- 
stitutes the  peculiarity  of  the  oral  style,  criti- 


The   Oral  Style  315 

cism  cannot  easily  define.  But  in  any  striking 
example  of  it  we  detect  several  features.  One 
is  the  predominance  of  concrete  over  abstract 
words  in  its  vocabulary.  Oral  discourse  is  es- 
sentially pictorial  in  its  nature.  .  .  .  Again, 
the  oral  style  inclines  to  a  large  excess  of  sim- 
plicity over  involution  in  the  construction  of 
sentences.  We  extemporize  in  shorter  sen- 
tences, more  simply  framed  sentences,  with  less 
of  inversion  and  introversion,  and  suspension 
of  the  sense.  .  .  .  One  other  feature  in  the 
style  natural  to  oral  discourse  is  the  dramatic 
quality,  which  makes  the  hearer  active  in  the 
discussion  of  a  subject.  This  partakes  of  the 
nature  of  colloquy  in  effect,  though  not  collo- 
quy in  form." 

Many  good  stories  are  told  of  the  effect  of 
such  dramatic  qualities  in  preaching.  Guthrie 
was  describing  a  shipwreck  with  such  lifelike 
power  that  a  young  sailor  in  the  gallery 
jumped  to  his  feet,  threw  off  his  jacket,  and 
shouted,  "  For  God's  sake,  man  the  life-boat." 
In  the  volume,  "  Men  and  Books,"  p.  221,  Dr. 
Phelps  asks,  "  What  is  it  in  oral  speech  which 
distinguishes  it  from  the  essay?"  And  he 
gives  the  answer  by  two  practical  examples, 
and  then  draws  the  conclusion  that  in  the  one  the 
man  talks  and  in  the  other  he  soliloquizes. 


316  The   Oral  Style 

*  How  can  a  student  avoid  the  essay  style, 
since  he  lacks  one  of  the  great  helps  to  an  ora- 
torical style,  a  particular  audience  of  his  own,  for 
whose  conversion  and  spiritual  culture  he  feels 
always  responsible  ?  Therefore  I  would  say, 
let  a  man  whenever  he  sits  down  to  write, 
call  up  his  audience,  one  by  one,  remember  the 
object  of  all  preaching,  to  persuade  to  right 
belief  and  behavior,  and  pray  and  pray  and  pray 
again,  that  this  particular  discourse  may  be  so 
framed  as  to  commend  the  truth  to  every  man's 
conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.  Let  a  man,  in 
the  seminary,  form  the  determination,  as  Dr. 
Upson  used  to  say,  always  to  '  preach  from  his 
own  deficiency,'  then  he  will  supply  others' 
deficiencies.  Let  him  preach  truth  just  as  fast 
as  he  lives  it  out  in  actual  experience.  In- 
tense personal  conviction  will  flame  out  in 
burning  utterance.  The  law  of  sacred  oratory 
is,  'I  believed  and  therefore  have  I  spoken.'  If 
a  man  can  write  without  shaking  his  head, 
gesturing  with  his  pen,  now  and  then  pacing 
the  floor,  something  is  wrong.  All  this  on  the 
ethical  side  of  the  question. 

"  On  the  rhetorical  side.  It  seems  to  me  that 
an  essay  should  be  smooth  and  graceful  in 
style,  while  the  sermon  should  have  points 
and  angularities,  make  a  wider  use  of  rhetori- 


The   Oral  Style  317 

cal  figures  and  forms,  deal  in  concrete  images 
rather  than  abstractions.  Oral  discourse  must 
be  pictorial,  simple,  direct,  not  afraid  of  homely 
idioms.  The  end  justifies  the  means.  Any- 
thing to  get  there. 

"  After  all,  it's  in  the  man  himself,  isn't  it  ? 
Let  him  cultivate  oratorical  gifts,  then  be  mas- 
tered by  his  truth,  and  he  must  find  fit  expres- 
sion. Let  him  be  the  ambassador  of  the  living 
King,  and  he  cannot  read  an  essay  to  the  King's 
subjects.  '  His  mouth  will  be  as  God's  mouth,' 
and,  like  Him,  he  will  '  speak  to  the  heart  of 
Israel.'  Spiritually  let  nim  be  consumed  with 
the  zeal  that  ate  up  Christ;  rhetorically,  let 
him  read  Carlyle,  and  not  Macaulay." 1 

Examples  of  the  Oral  Style.  —  Now  in  order 
that  we  apply  and  test  some  of  the  distinctions 
thus  made,  let  us  take  extracts  from  three  or 
four  men  who  have  the  speaking  style. 

The  first  shall  be  Wendell  Phillips,  whose 
very  definition  of  oratory  as  "  animated  con- 
versation "  is  seen  in  all  his  speech. 

Extract  from  "  The  Murder  of  Lovejoy  " :  2 

"  Presumptuous  to  assert  the  freedom  of  the 
press  on  American  ground  !  Is  the  assertion 
of  such  freedom  before  the  age  ?  So  much  be- 
i  Extract  from  a  private  letter.        2  Speeches,  p.  9. 


318  The   Oral  Style 

fore  the  age  as  to  leave  one  no  right  to  make 
it  because  it  displeases  the  community  ?  Who 
invents  this  libel  on  his  country?  It  is  this 
very  thing  that  entitles  Love  joy  to  greater 
praise.  The  disputed  right  which  provoked 
the  Revolution  —  taxation  without  representa- 
tion—  is  far  beneath  that  for  which  he  died. 

"  One  word,  gentlemen.  As  much  as  thought 
is  better  than  money,  so  much  is  the  cause  in 
which  Lovejoy  died  nobler  than  a  mere  question 
of  taxes.  James  Otis  thundered  in  this  hall 
when  the  king  did  but  touch  his  pocket.  Im- 
agine, if  you  can,  his  indignant  eloquence,  had 
England  offered  to  put  a  gag  upon  his  lips." 

The  next  is  from  Alexander  Maclaren,  the 
sermon  on  "  The  Awakening  of  Zion,"  from 
the  volume,  "  The  Secret  of  Power."  "  Thank 
God  for  the  outpouring  of  the  long-unwonted 
spirit  of  prayer  in  many  places.  It  is  like  the 
melting  of  snows  in  the  high  Alps,  at  once 
the  sign  of  spring  and  the  cause  of  filling  the 
stony  river  beds  with  flashing  waters,  that 
bring  verdure  and  growth  wherever  they  come. 
The  winter  has  been  long  and  hard.  We  have 
all  to  confess  that  we  have  been  restraining 
prayer  before  God.  Our  work  has  been  done 
with  but  little  sense  of  our  need  of  his  blessing, 
with  but  little  ardor  of  desire  for  his  power. 


The   Oral  Style  319 

We  have  prayed  lazily,  scarcely  believing  that 
an  answer  would  come ;  we  have  not  watched 
for  the  reply,  but  have  been  like  some  heartless 
marksman  who  draws  his  bow  and  does  not 
care  to  look  whether  his  arrow  strikes  the  tar- 
get. These  mechanical  words,  these  conven- 
tional petitions,  these  syllables  winged  by  no 
real  desire,  inspired  by  no  faith ;  these  expres- 
sions of  devotion,  far  too  wide  for  their  con- 
tents, which  rattle  in  them  like  a  dried  kernel 
in  a  nut  —  are  these  prayers?  Is  there  any 
wonder  that  they  have  been  dispersed  in  empty 
air,  and  that  we  have  been  put  to  shame  before 
our  enemies  ?  Brethren,  in  the  ministry,  do 
we  need  to  be  surprised  at  our  fruitless  work, 
when  we  think  of  our  prayerless  studies  and 
of  our  faithless  prayers?" 

One  more  extract  will  be  enough  for  our 
purpose,  and  this  will  be  from  Dr.  Roswell  D. 
Hitchcock  —  the  sermon  on  "  The  Staff  of  Life," 
from  the  volume, "  Eternal  Atonement."  "  Purer 
in  doctrine  than  papal  Europe,  and  in  most 
respects,  no  doubt,  purer  also  in  morals,  more 
intelligent,  more  industrious,  more  enterprising, 
and  consequently  more  prosperous,  Protestant 
Europe  is  nevertheless  in  the  heat  of  a  raging 
fever,  her  very  vitals  burning  with  the  lust  of 
gain,     England,   especially,  suffers  under  the 


320  The   Oral  Style 

ravages  of  this  vehement  disease.  For  genera- 
tions has  she  been  applauded  by  the  grateful 
nations,  as  the  bulwark  of  Protestantism  and 
the  dauntless  evangelist  of  freedom.  But  look 
on  England  to-day,  the  England  that  speaks  to 
us  through  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  her  stout 
hand  not  upon  her  heart  but  upon  her  pocket. 
If  this  be  our  Protestant  brotherhood,  this  the 
fellowship  of  nations,  which  have  stood  to- 
gether for  the  freedom  of  the  world,  well  may 
we  hang  our  heads  in  bitter  shame  as  we  re- 
member even  the  crusades  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
These,  at  least,  were  a  gallant  frenzy,  a  gener- 
ous fanaticism,  while  we  have  fallen  upon  times 
of  ignoble  selfishness  and  greed.  Tell  us,  ye 
British  statesmen,  tell  us,  ye  sordid  sons  of 
heroic  sires,  are  constitutions  only  parch- 
ments? Are  nations  only  herds  of  farmers, 
artisans,  and  traders  ?  Are  our  fathers'  graves 
only  mounds  of  earth,  and  our  children's 
cradles  mere  upholstery  ?  Is  chartered  free- 
dom only  sounding  rhetoric  ?  Is  duty  only  a 
name?  Is  honor  dead?  Has  the  Almighty 
abdicated  ?  And  is  there  nothing  for  us  in  the 
nineteenth  century  but  to  delve  and  spin  and 
trade,  to  clutch  and  hoard,  to  eat  and  drink 
and  bloat  and  rot  and  die,  and  make  no 
sign  ?  " 


The   Oral  Style  321 

Marks  of  the  Oral  Style.  —  We  have  these 
different  suggestions,  and  these  examples  of 
effective  address ;  what  shall  we  say,  then, 
are  some  of  the  marks  of  the  oral  style  ? 

It  has  the  personal  marks  of  a  conversation. 
The  first  person,  singular  or  plural,  is  to  be 
used  naturally  and  modestly  as  in  any  dignified 
conversation.  And  the  second  person,  the 
word  of  direct  address,  will  be  used  often 
enough  to  make  the  audience  feel  that  they  are 
the  direct  object  of  the  sermon  and  must  have 
personal  interest  in  it. 

Short  and  simple  sentences  will  prevail. 
The  sentences  will  be  broken  with  sudden 
gleams  of  thought  and  emotion.  But  clauses 
that  needlessly  qualify  and  suspend  the  thought 
will  be  omitted.  The  oral  style  will  have 
directness  and  movement. 

There  will  be  more  means  used  to  prepare 
the  course  of  the  thought  and  hold  attention, 
as  the  announcement  of  plan  and  points,  and 
conversational  clauses  that  easily  and  clearly 
carry  on  the  connection  of  thought  from  one 
sentence  to  another.  And  then  repetition  in 
the  way  of  summing  up  argument  or  points 
made,  and  repeating  the  same  thought  in  new 
form  and  illustration  both  for  clearness  and 
added  weight  of  impression.     Notice  especially 


322  The  Oral  Style 

the  effect  of  repetition  in  the  summary  begin- 
ning, "  These  mechanical  words,"  etc. 

The  speech  will  be  more  pictorial:  the  more 
frequent  use  of  figures  of  thought  and  structure. 
Balanced  phrases  will  be  found.  Antithesis 
will  make  the  truth  more  striking.  Frequent 
cumulation  of  phrases  will  be  common  toward 
the  end  of  a  passage.  And  those  forms  that 
express  feeling  and  inquiry  —  the  exclamation 
and  interrogation  —  will  be  a  natural  and  nec- 
essary expression.  Notice  the  power  of  the 
interrogation  in  the  extracts  from  Wendell 
Phillips  and  Dr.  Hitchcock. 

The  frequent  use  of  the  interrogation  is  es- 
pecially true  to  the  oral  style.  It  is  involved 
in  the  very  idea  of  the  sermon  as  a  conversation. 

The  interrogation  expresses  the  worth  of  the 
hearer.  It  appeals  to  his  intelligence,  and  be- 
lieves in  his  capacity.  It  expresses  the  desire 
for  the  response  of  the  audience,  and  so  they 
are  unconsciously  drawn  toward  the  preacher. 

The  interrogation  is  a  personal  appeal  to  each 
hearer.  Notice  the  effect  of  a  keen,  direct 
question  upon  an  audience.  How  it  wins  the 
attention  of  the  listless  and  stirs  the  sluggish  ! 
Of  course  the  questions  must  be  such  as  would 
get  an  immediate  answer  from  the  intelligence 
of  men,  or  from   the   previous  discussion.     If 


The  Oral  Style  323 

they  suggest  problems  difficult  or  unanswerable, 
they  may  so  divert  and  absorb  the  mind  as  to 
render  it  insensible  to  the  rest  of  the  sermon. 

Then  questions  must  sometimes  be  answered 
—  the  preacher  representing  the  audience,  and 
so  carrying  on  a  brief  dialogue. 

Questions  compel  variety  in  the  use  of  the 
voice,  remind  the  speaker  of  the  audience,  will 
help  him  to  speak,  not  read,  and  so  bind  speaker 
and  hearer  together  that  through  these  personal 
ties  the  truth  may  find  its  way  from  heart  to 
heart. 

Two   Suggestions    in    Conclusion.  —  It    is    a 

principle  that  the  formation  of  sentences 
determines  the  mode  of  their  delivery.  There 
can  be  a  natural  variety  in  speaking  only  as 
there  is  variety  in  writing.  You  cannot  speak 
an  essay.  The  style  must  have  the  oral  quali- 
ties if  the  sermon  is  to  have  the  delivery  of 
natural  speech. 

While  you  are  preparing  the  sermon,  do 
everything  that  you  can  to  realize  the  pres- 
ence of  an  audience.  If  you  have  no  particular 
audience,  imagine  one.  Even  project  yourself 
and  preach  to  that.  Dr.  Chalmers  always  felt 
that  his  study  was  crowded  with  his  people  and 
he  wrote  directly  to  them.  Dr.  Guthrie  wrote 
aloud  in  the  study  of  his  church.     And  when 


324  The   Oral  Style 

the  fire  burned  low  and  the  work  grew  hard,  he 
left  his  study,  entered  the  church,  mounted  the 
pulpit,  and  with  his  marvellous  imagination 
pictured  the  multitude  that  Sabbath  to  Sabbath 
hung  upon  his  word  ;  pictured  their  sins  and 
sorrows  and  hopes;  and  with  this  picture  of 
human  need  in  his  heart,  he  went  back  to  his 
study  with  a  divine  baptism.  Rufus  Choate 
said,  "  A  speech  is  to  be  written  as  in  and  for 
the  presence  of  an  audience."  Lyman  Beecher 
wrote  with  one  hand  and  gestured  with  the 
other,  his  lips  moving  in  whispered  utterance 
of  what  he  was  writing.  "  I  always  write 
aloud,"  said  Dr.  Hitchcock.  Eloquence  is  a 
social  virtue.  "  The  sermon  is  not  to  be  some- 
thing, but  to  *~do  something,  —  to  instruct,  to 
convince,  to  persuade,  to  rebuke  or  comfort 
people  who  are  toiling,  struggling,  tempted,  sin- 
ning, suffering,  sorrowing,  —  and  whose  expect- 
ant, yearning  faces  turn  toward  the  pastor 
and  should  haunt  and  help  him,  as  with  pen  in 
hand  he  is  trying  to  answer  their  appeal  and 
provide  for  their  living  needs." 


LECTURE   XVII 

THE   ELEMENTS   OF   EFFECTIVE 
SPEAKING 


OUTLINE 

The  personal  and  the  impersonal;  the  personal  inseparably 
connected  with  the  man,  and  only  slightly  communicable ;  the 
impersonal  can  be  stated  in  general  laws  and  acquired  by 
practice. 

1.  The  personal  elements.    Their  source  in  nature,  the  ex- 

pression of  character. 

a  The  personal  quality  of  the  voice,  its  relation  to  char- 
acter. Training  should  develop,  not  destroy,  the  per- 
sonal quality. 

6  The  personal  quality  of  the  action.  Every  man  should 
be  known  by  his  manner.  Cultivation  of  taste,  laws 
of  gesture,  must  not  weaken  individuality.  In  all 
things  be  natural,  your  best  self. 

c  The  distinction  between  dramatic  and  practical  elocu- 
tion. 

2.  The  impersonal  elements.     The  elements  that  belong  to 

the  best  public  speech,  and  can  be  expressed  in  laws. 
a  Distinctness.    It  is  to  speech  what  clearness  is  to  style. 
Speaking  so  that  men  will  understand. 

1.  Enunciation,   fine,  clear,  full.      The  sins  of   public 

speech  in  this  respect. 

2.  Proper  pronunciation. 

3.  Opposed  to  misplaced  and  false  emphasis. 

4.  Sufficient  volume  of  voice. 

6  Simplicity.  A  relative  quality.  Opposed  to  the  affected, 
the  artificial,  and  the  sensational.  Takes  hold  upon 
the  grace  of  humility.  The  art  of  speaking  is  to  be 
simple  and  chaste. 

c  Directness.  Simplicity  has  chief  reference  to  the 
thought,  directness  to  the  purpose  and  the  audience. 

1.  The  consciousness  of  directness  helpful  to  the  intel- 

lectual and  spiritual  activity  of  the  preacher. 

2.  It  will  be  a  corrective  and  stimulus  to  the  rhetorical 

form  of  the  sermon. 

3.  It  will  prevent  some  natural  defects  of  delivery. 

d  Earnestness.  Demands  volume  of  voice  to  make  truth 
impressive,  and  vitality  of  tone  and  manner  to  get 
and  keep  the  attention  of  the  audience.  Earnest 
conversation  the  ideal  of  the  pulpit.  The  difference 
of  natures.  The  physical  element  in  earnestness. 
The  use  of  the  will. 

e  Adaptability.  The  harmony  of  the  inner  and  the  outer 
world  in  speaking,  the  graduation  of  voice  and  man- 
ner to  thought  and  feeling  and  the  needs  of  men.  It 
demands  the  training  and  control  of  the  whole  per- 
son. The  special  training  of  the  voice,  the  ear,  and 
the  taste. 

References : 

Pattison.     "  The  Making  of  the  Sermon."    19. 
Broadus.    "  Preparation  and  Delivery  of  the  Ser- 
mon."   Part  4. 
"  On  Preaching."     A  symposium.    6,  7. 
Nathan  Sheppard.      "  Before  an  Audience." 

326 


LECTUKE   XVII 

THE   ELEMENTS   OF   EFFECTIVE 
SPEAKING 

What  are  the  elements  of  effective  speak- 
ing? It  is  evident  that  they  fall  into  two 
divisions,  —  the  personal  and  the  impersonal. 
The  personal  are  inseparably  connected  with 
the  man,  hard  to  define,  at  times  almost  elude 
analysis,  and  are  only  in  a  slight  degree  com- 
municable. The  impersonal  belong  to  all 
public  speech,  can  be  reduced  to  laws,  and 
can  be  gained  by  practice. 

The  Personal  Elements.  —  The  personal  ele- 
ments have  their  source  in  nature;  they  are  the 
expression  of  character.  Lincoln's  strong, 
homely,  patient  logic,  directed  by  his  clear- 
grained  sincerity  and  lighted  at  times  with 
poetic  fervor,  his  quaint,  kindly  humor,  were 
expressed  in  voice  and  manner  and  made  him 
the  trusted  and  powerful  master  of  assemblies. 
Charles  Sumner's  breadth  of  nature  and 
327 


328     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

culture,  his  sensitiveness  to  the  highest  things 
in  life  and  art,  combined  with  a  critical  acumen 
that  gave  him  a  scorn  of  the  unworthy  and 
indifference  to  popular  influence,  —  all  these 
were  felt  in  his  speech,  —  a  speech  that  was  not 
the  delight  of  the  people,  but  the  fearless  and 
commanding  voice  of  the  Senate.  The  strong, 
logical  nature  of  Finney  made  his  speech  direct, 
sharp,  and  incisive,  cutting  its  way  to  the  con- 
science of  his  hearers.  The  robustness  of 
Spurgeon,  his  grasp  of  truth,  sustaining  great 
emotions,  laid  its  masterful  spell  upon  the 
thousands  that  listened  to  his  words.  The  spir- 
itual insight  of  a  Robertson  or  a  Maclaren, 
their  subtle  perception  of  hidden  relations  and 
analogies,  their  bodying  forth  of  the  complex 
motives,  the  shadowy  visions  of  our  natures, 
make  them  the  suggestive  and  inspiring  teachers 
of  their  generation. 

All  this  may  be  said,  and  we  have  sug- 
gested, not  analyzed,  their  power  over  men. 
Back  of  all  is  the  heart  and  brain,  the  think- 
ing and  willing  and  throbbing  personality, 
that  gives  itself  with  its  speech,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Apostle,  "willing  to  have  im- 
parted unto  you,  not  the  Gospel  of  God  only, 
but  also  our  own  souls."  The  highest  element 
of    speech  is  personal.      The   best  speech  is 


The  Element*  of  Effective  Speaking     329 

always  costly;    it  is  the   gift  of  physical  and 
psychic  and  spiritual  vitality. 

There  are  elements  in  delivery  itself  as  in- 
dividual and  incommunicable  as  the  person- 
ality. 

Every  voice  has  its  personal  quality.     It  has 
some  invisible,  undefinable  relation  to  the  char- 
acter.    It  finds  the  friendly  ear  amid  a  babel 
of  sounds.     "  The  voice  is  Jacob's,  though  the 
hand  is  Esau's."     You  may   strike  the   same 
note  on  the  flute,  the  violin,  the  cornet,  the 
piano,  the  organ,  and  each  instrument  will  give 
forth   its   distinct  and   differing  sound.     It  is 
the   individual   quality  that   gives   the   power 
of    orchestral    harmony.      Voices    differ    still 
more  widely,  and  the  infinite  variety  of  quality 
gives  to  speech  its  attractiveness  and   power. 
Training    should   never    touch    this    personal 
element  of  the  voice  ;    in  as  far  as  it  does  so, 
it  is  pernicious.     The  tone  may  be  made  pure, 
the  words  properly  and  distinctly  formed,  the 
range  and  volume  greatly  increased,  the  voice 
developed,  and  yet  the  personality  not  marred 
or  lost  ;    in  fact,  the   personality  more   fully 
brought  out. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  action  of  the  speaker. 
The  action  should  fit  the  word,  as  the  word  the 
man.     As  every  man  is  known  by  his  walk,  so 


330     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

every  speaker  should  be  known  by  his  manner 
and  gesture.  John  Randolph  became  known 
by  the  action  of  his  long,  bony  finger.  It  in- 
dexed the  flashing,  vehement  utterance  of  this 
son  of  Virginia.  The  slow,  awkward  move- 
ments of  Lincoln,  so  expressive  of  the  homely 
logic  and  homely  wit  of  the  man,  you  would 
not  change  it  if  you  could  for  the  grace  and 
elegance  of  Edward  Everett.  Such  oratorical 
trimming  would  be  the  shearing  of  Samson's 
locks.  The  very  ruggedness  of  some  men  is 
their  strength. 

Now  there  are  certain  laws  for  gesture. 
There  is  a  relation  between  thought  and  pas- 
sion and  the  action  of  the  speaker.  There  is 
a  proper,  respectful,  manly  position  for  the  man 
to  take  before  his  audience.  The  perception  of 
taste — the  fitness  of  things  —  can  be  culti- 
vated. The  extravagant,  the  offensive,  the 
inappropriate  and  inexpressive  can  be  removed. 
But  the  instinctive  and  unconscious  expression 
of  the  man  in  his  action  should  never  be  fet- 
tered by  needless  laws  or  destroyed  by  the 
imitation  of  others. 

The  matter  of  the  personal  elements  of  ef- 
fective delivery  may  be  summed  up  by  saying, 
Be  natural,  be  yourselves,  and  you  will  not 
misunderstand    the    meaning    of    naturalness. 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     331 

You  will  not  make  it  synonymous  with  per- 
sonal eccentricity  and  defect.  Rather  is  it  the 
best  expression  in  accordance  with  each  man's 

nature. 

Your  speech  is  to  make  others  see  and  feel 
as  you  do.  You  have  two  instruments  of  self- 
expression,  —  the  voice  and  the  action.  The 
voice  finds  the  ear.  The  face  and  gesture  find 
the  eye.  The  soul  may  flash  upon  the  face 
the  light  of  its  thought  and  passion,  and 
motion  may  interpret  and  enforce.  Happy 
the  speaker  in  whom  all  the  personal  elements 
of  expression  unite,  who  speaks  with  the  whole 

man. 

It  is  a  fatal  mistake  to  try  to  make  a  man 
over  into  some  one  else.  The  result  is  likely 
to  be  an  inferior  copy,  and  that,  too,  a  soulless 
one.  If  the  training  aims  only  at  imitation,  it 
is  a  singular  fact  that  the  defects  are  the  sur- 
est to  be  imitated,  and  that  in  an  exaggerated 
form.  So  that  the  pupil  is  no  more  like  the 
master  than  Nast's  cartoons  were  like  Horace 
Greeley,  or  the  caricatures  of  Punch  resembled 
William  E.  Gladstone. 

Any  procrustean  system  of  elocution  will 
merit  the  reproach  of  pernicious  training.  It 
fetters,  not  emancipates,  the  man. 

And  this  suggests  the  broad  distinction  be- 


332     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

tween  a  dramatic  elocution  and  a  practical 
elocution.  The  former  expresses  passion;  the 
latter  all  forms  of  thought  and  feeling.  The 
one  requires  a  voice  of  peculiar  quality  and 
compass;  the  other  takes  all  voices  into  its 
service.  The  first  assumes  for  the  time  an- 
other character  and  voice ;  the  last  maintains 
its  own  person  in  all  speech.  There  is  a  place 
for  dramatic  elocution  in  pulpit  speech :  the 
tragedy  of  human  life  could  not  be  portrayed 
without  it.  But  it  is  only  a  phase  of  the 
training  which  should  fit  the  minister  for  the 
adaptation  of  varying  thought  and  occasion. 
The  best  elocutionary  training  for  the  pulpit 
is  that  in  harmony  with  all  true  education, 
not  filling  or  imposing  upon,  but  drawing 
forth  the  utmost  capacity.  It  should  make 
the  individual  powers  free  and  facile.  It  is 
personal  in  its  aim  and  method,  working 
for  the  best  expression  of  the  individual  man. 
Having  said  thus  much  concerning  effective 
pulpit  speaking,  that  which  elocution  cannot 
affect,  and  ought  never  to  attempt,  let  us 
advance  to  the  things  which  are  in  the  province 
of  training,  which  can  be  gained  by  training. 

The  Impersonal    Elements.  —  What  are   the 
impersonal  elements  of  effective  delivery,  the 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     333 

elements  that  belong  to  the  best  pulpit 
speech,  that  can  be  reduced  to  laws  and  can 
be  attained  by  the  obedience  to  laws? 

I  would  name  distinctness,  simplicity,  di- 
rectness, earnestness,  and  adaptability. 

These  are  not  matters  of  mere  taste  and  cul- 
ture, to  be  lightly  accepted  or  discarded,  but 
fundamental  and  essential.  I  do  not  mean 
that  no  preacher  can  be  successful  without  all 
of  them,  but  he  must  excel  in  some  one  of 
them,  and  all  are  essential  to  the  highest 
excellence. 

Distinct?iess  is  the  first  element,  first  in  natu- 
ral order  and  the  order  of  importance. 

It  is  to  speech  what  clearness  is  to  style. 
Clearness  means  that  words  are  to  be  so  chosen 
and  arranged  that  men  not  only  may  under- 
stand, but  must  understand.  And  so  dis- 
tinctness demands  the  speaking  of  words  and 
sentences  in  a  way  that  men  must  understand 
as  well  as  may  :  not  may  with  fixed  and  strained 
attention,  but  must  without  serious  mental 
effort. 

The  first  requirement  of  distinctness  is  enun- 
ciation, — fine,  clear,  full  enunciation.  It  belongs 
to  the  primary  elements  of  speech,  to  the  vowel 
and  consonant  sounds,  to  their  union  in  sylla- 
bles.    The  vowels  determine  the  number  and 


334     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

tone  of  the  syllables,  the  consonants  their 
limits.  The  first  are  the  windows  of  thought 
to  be  made  clear  and  pure,  the  second  the 
frames,  distinct  and  well  defined.  And  here 
the  sins  of  pulpit  speech  are  the  most  common. 
There  is  a  carelessness  about  the  syllable  as 
though  it  were  a  trifle,  —  it  is  wholly  cut  out, 
or  run  into  some  other  syllable,  or  blurred  or 
cut  short.  We  cannot  afford  to  neglect  any 
part  of  our  noble  English  speech,  to  fail  in 
painstaking  to  make  every  word  a  jewel,  clear- 
cut  and  luminous.  I  do  not  mean  a  care  that 
seems  overnice  and  affected,  but  an  honest 
and  faithful  effort  to  give  each  word  its  ac- 
curate place  and  meaning.  There  will  be 
great  difference  in  the  ease  with  which  men 
attain  distinctness  of  enunciation.  It  will 
depend  upon  nature,  the  natural  shape  of 
mouth,  the  position  of  teeth,  the  thickness  or 
thinness  of  the  lips ;  upon  early  surroundings, 
the  unconscious  training  of  home  life;  but 
no  man,  unless  tongue-tied,  can  fail  of  proper 
enunciation  if  he  will  give  himself  to  it. 

Distinctness  includes  proper  pronunciation: 
not  only  the  clear  and  full  sound  of  each  syl- 
lable, but  the  proper  sound  of  the  word  and 
the  accent  in  the  proper  place.  The  attention 
is  lost  if  the  hearer  stops  to  interpret  the  wrong 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     335 

sound  or  stress.  The  sympathy  and  respect 
are  lost  if  vulgar  words  and  incorrect  words 
come  from  the  lips  of  him  who  is  to  be  the 
intellectual  as  well  as  spiritual  leader  of  the 
people.  He  is  to  teach  men  truth,  and  his 
position  must  not  be  weakened  by  signs  of 
careless  ignorance.  Many  a  hearer  has  been 
fatally  prejudiced  against  a  worthy  and  influ- 
ential minister,  because  of  his  slovenly  habit 
of  wrong  words  and  sounds. 

"  I  would  have  you  zealous,  like  the  Apostle 
over  the  Church,  over  these  pure  wells  of  Eng- 
lish undefiled;  degrade  not  our  sacred  tongue 
by  slang;  defile  not  its  crystal  streams  with 
the  foul  waters  of  careless  speech;  honor  its 
stern  old  parentage,  obey  its  simple  yet  severe 
grammar,  watch  its  perfect  rhythm,  and  never 
mix  its  blue  blood,  the  gift  of  noblest  sires, 
with  the  base  puddle  of  any  mongrel  race; 
never  speak  half  the  language  of  Ashdod  and 
half  of  Canaan,  but  be  ye  of  a  pure  English 
lip."1 

Distinctness  is  furthermore  opposed  to  mis- 
placed and  excessive  emphasis,  whereby  the 
thought  is  wrested  from  its  natural  connec- 
tion, or  covered  up  by  undue  attention  to 
some  dependent  phase  and  condition  of 
1  J.  S.  Macintosh,  D.D. 


336     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

thought.  In  style,  obscurity  may  come  from 
faulty  arrangement  as  well  as  choice  of  words. 
And  in  speaking,  the  voice  must  indicate  the 
principal  and  dependent,  the  important  and 
secondary  in  the  thought,  or  the  result  will 
be  an  incorrect  or  indistinct  impression  upon 
the  mind  of  the  hearer. 

And  distinctness  must  mean  enough  volume 
of  voice  to  be  heard  with  ease  by  the  farth- 
est in  the  audience.  The  most  spiritual  and 
patient  listener  will  soon  tire  of  straining 
the  ear  to  detect  some  familiar  sound.  The 
hunger  for  the  word  cannot  be  satisfied  with  an 
occasional  crumb. 

It  is  true  that  the  matter  of  distinctness  does 
not  depend  wholly  on  the  amount  of  voice  — 
the  fulness  of  tone.  One  may  use  too  much 
voice  as  well  as  too  little.  And  the  rate  of 
speaking  and  a  certain  projectile  quality  enter 
into  distinctness,  which  will  be  discussed  here- 
after. But  surely  too  great  importance  can- 
not be  given  to  the  quality  of  distinctness. 
The  inertia  of  masses  of  men  must  be  taken  for 
granted.  If  you  demand  any  undue  attention 
to  your  words  in  order  to  understand  them, 
you  will  fail  to  hold  their  interest,  instruct,  and 
persuade. 

And  it  must  be  confessed  that  many  minis- 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking    337 

ters  are  sinners  against  this  primal  grace  of 
pulpit  efficiency.  So  widespread  is  the  lack 
that  the  Homiletic  Review  had  a  series  of  criti- 
cisms on  indistinct  and  improper  pronunciation 
of  New  York  ministers.  We  may  fail  in  cer- 
tain graces  of  pulpit  speech,  but  we  have  no 
business  to  be  indistinct. 

A  second  element  of  effective  delivery  is 
simplicity.  It  is  a  relative  quality.  The  sim- 
plicity of  Robertson  is  different  from  that  of 
Canon  Liddon,  yet  both  are  simple.  It  is  not 
only  related  to  the  man,  but  to  the  subject  and 
the  occasion.  You  would  not  expect  the  same 
kind  of  simplicity  in  the  sermons  of  Dr.  W.  W. 
Newton,  that  prince  of  children's  preachers  in 
his  "  Rills  from  the  Fountain  of  Life,"  that  you 
find  in  the  Easter  sermons  of  Phillips  Brooks 
to  business  men  ;  yet  both  are  very  simple. 
What  is  simplicity  ?  It  is  opposed  to  all 
motions  of  voice  and  body  not  needed  in  the 
best  expression  of  thought  and  feeling.  It  is 
opposed  to  the  affected  and  artificial  and  sensa- 
tional. It  despises  tricks  of  voice  and  manner. 
It  is  that  elocution  that  does  not  call  attention 
to  itself,  that  never  parades  itself  before  the 
audience,  that  is  willing  to  serve  and  not  seek 
the  honor  of  men. 

Simplicity  of  delivery  may  be  cultivated  by 


338     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

an  honest  and  rigorous  self-criticism  —  a  criti- 
cism that  shall  constantly  ask  the  question, 
Of  what  use  ?  Do  the  thought  and  feeling 
demand  the  inflection  or  the  action  ?  Will 
men  be  reached  by  it  ?  Will  they  think  of  the 
message  and  feel  it  ?  Or  will  they  think  most 
of  the  wonderful  powers  of  the  preacher  ? 

This  important  quality  goes  beneath  the  sur- 
face drill  of  elocution  and  takes  hold  upon  the 
Christian  grace  of  humility.  The  man  who  is 
willing  to  be  a  servant  will  cast  off  the  vices 
of  a  florid,  affected,  artificial  style. 

And  it  is  necessary  to  speak  of  it  because  the 
minister  is  especially  exposed  to  the  tempta- 
tions of  vanity.  He  feels  the  intoxication  of 
leadership.  He  has  the  delightful  conscious- 
ness that  hundreds  hang  upon  his  words.  He 
may  receive  the  pleasant  expressions  of  appre- 
ciation and  gratitude.  And  in  all  this  there  is 
a  subtle  tendency  to  exalt  self  which  is  fatal 
to  the  best  effects  of  pulpit  speech. 

The  art  of  preaching,  like  all  other  true  arts, 
is  simple  and  chaste.  "To  be  much  within 
and  little  without,  to  do  all  for  truth,  nothing 
for  show,  and  to  express  the  largest  possible 
meaning  with  the  least  possible  stress  of  expres- 
sion —  this  is  its  law." 

Another  element  of  effective  speech  is  direct- 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     339 

ness.  Simplicity  has  chief  reference  to  the 
thought,  directness  has  chief  reference  to  the 
purpose  and  the  audience.  It  is  opposed  to  all 
air  of  abstraction  or  introspection,  or  far-away 
look  or  tone. 

Directness  is  involved  in  the  very  idea  of 
preaching,  address  immediate  and  direct  to 
the  people. 

It  is  evident  that  directness  of  speech  has  to 
do  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  speaker. 
If  his  interest  is  chiefly  intellectual  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  truth,  and  his  delight  in  self-expres- 
sion or  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  form,  no 
training  can  give  him  the  quality  of  contact. 
But  if  he  have  a  definite  end  of  practical  im- 
pression, which  his  discourse  is  to  make  on  the 
minds  before  him,  if  he  have  in  view  individual 
hearers  in  the  congregation,  the  direct  touch 
will  not  be  difficult  to  gain;  it  will  be  difficult 
not  to  gain  it. 

The  consciousness  of  directness  will  be  most 
helpful  to  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  activity 
of  the  preacher.  "  It  is  necessary,"  says  Dr. 
Storrs,  "in  order  to  enlist  his  moral  nature, 
ardently,  thoroughly,  in  the  work  he  has  to  do. 
Intellectual  excitement  is  relatively  without 
warmth.  Intellectual  enthusiasm,  for  a  propo- 
sition which  has  no  special,  practical  relation  to 


340     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

those  to  whom  it  is  being  presented,  never  has 
the  force  of  real  passion.  The  heating  power 
in  the  nature  of  man  is  in  its  moral  element. 
This  gives  the  inward  glow  and  vividness  to 
all  his  intellectual  processes,  when  it  inspires 
them.  Power  and  impulse  always  come  from 
it." 

The  aim  of  directness  in  pulpit  speech  will 
be  both  a  corrective  and  a  stimulus  to  the 
rhetorical  form  of  the  sermon. 

It  will  give  unity  and  progression  and  im- 
pact to  the  discourse.  The  suggested  thoughts 
and  illustrations  are  made  confluent,  growing 
in  fulness  and  force  to  the  end. 

It  will  correct  the  habit  of  discursiveness, 
the  besetting  sin  of  full  minds,  that  speak 
without  notes.  Purpose  is  the  drill-master  of 
order.  The  needless  and  irrelevant  matter 
will  be  ruled  out,  and  the  sermon  have  growth, 
progress,  movement,  to  the  climax  of  impression. 

On  the  other  hand,  directness  of  purpose  will 
keep  the  sermon  from  becoming  a  beautiful  and 
cold  essay  —  an  essay  that  sparkles,  to  be  sure, 
but  with  no  more  heat  than  the  sparkle  of  the 
diamond. 

Unless  the  purpose  of  personal  impression 
governs  the  speaker,  the  subprocesses  as  they 
are  called,  the  action  of  thought,  the  effort  at 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     341 

expression,  will  be  painfully  manifested,  leading 
to  the  worst  vices  of  delivery.  The  delivery 
will  be  lifeless  if  the  sermon  be  written.  In 
memoriter  preaching  the  voice  follows  the  in- 
trospective mind.  In  extempore  preaching  the 
effort  to  unfold  the  thought  fetters  voice  and 
manner.  But  how  intensity  of  purpose  changes 
all  this  !  What  freedom  and  facility  in  the 
action  of  reason  and  memory  !  What  swift- 
ness of  speech,  what  self-forgetfulness  that  adds 
to  the  persuasive  enthusiasm  of  the  words  ! 

The  manner  of  the  pulpit  will  get  its  signifi- 
cance from  this  directness.  The  sea  of  faces 
gives  place  to  the  individual  to  whom  the  eye 
speaks  and  the  hand,  yes,  and  the  whole  man. 

And  thus  the  preacher  is  brought  into  vital, 
personal  relation  with  his  audience,  holds  their 
attention,  and  exerts  direct  influence  upon  them. 
The  purpose  of  directness  is  the  lens  that  fo- 
cusses  the  mental  and  moral  action  so  that  it 
becomes  intense,  concentrated,  and  effective. 

A  recent  writer  says  of  Rev.  John  McNeill 
of  Glasgow  that  "  he  speaks  as  though  he  were 
talking  to  men.  He  is  not  lacking  in  oratorical 
graces,  but  he  does  not  appear  to  be  thinking 
of  anything  but  his  theme  and  his  audience. 
There  is  a  self-unconsciousness  which  is  charm- 
ing, and  an  absence  of  all  unnatural  and  artifi- 


342     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

cial  mannerisms  that  is  winning.  Mr.  McNeill 
is  in  the  pulpit  the  same  talker  that  he  is  in  the 
parlor." 

The  nature  and  effect  of  this  practical  pur- 
pose suggests  another  element  of  effective  de- 
livery, that  of  earnestness.  Earnestness  as  far 
as  it  has  to  do  with  delivery  means  the  use  of 
enough  force  and  volume  of  voice  to  make  all 
hear  without  effort  and  to  give  the  strongest 
thought  and  feeling  something  like  adequate 
expression,  so  that  the  address  will  be  im- 
pressive. And  it  further  demands  a  certain 
animation,  vitality  of  tone  and  manner,  that 
shall  make  the  audience  feel  that  a  live  man  is 
speaking.  The  Kingdom  of  God  grows  from 
within  intensively  as  well  as  extensively.  It  is 
only  leaven  that  can  leaven  ;  fire  that  can 
kindle  fire  ;  a  live  man  that  can  quicken  the 
dead  formalism  of  the  mass.  Earnestness  in 
the  preacher  is  the  accent  of  conviction  ;  it  is 
speaking  the  truth  like  truth,  not  like  fiction. 
Garrick,  when  once  asked  what  was  the  proper 
manner  of  delivery  for  the  pulpit,  replied, 
"  That  of  earnest  conversation."  "  He  stood  as 
if  pleading  with  men  "  is  Bunyan's  description 
of  the  preacher. 

I  recognize  the  great  difference  of  natures  in 
this  respect:   one  man  always  sparkles,  while 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking      343 

another  sends  forth  a  dull  light.  Men  that 
have  equal  conviction  of  truth,  and  consecration 
to  duty,  and  passion  for  souls,  may  differ  widely 
in  the  natural  qualities  of  animation.  But 
vocal  earnestness  can  be  cultivated.  The  dull, 
immobile  face  can  be  made  to  brighten ;  the 
heavy,  monotonous  tones  can  be  made  to  change 
their  key  and  quicken  their  rate. 

There  is  a  physical  element  in  earnestness. 
An  English  paper  once  criticised  the  clergymen 
of  the  Church  of  England  :  "  Take  a  Methodist 
preacher  who  has  something  to  say  and  says  it 
with  all  his  heart,  set  him  down  in  village  or 
city,  and  he  will  in  a  short  time  fill  the  com- 
monest and  baldest  barn.  Let  a  Church  of 
England  minister  display  the  same  enthusiasm, 
and  he  will  have  as  much  success."  Is  it  not 
physical  enthusiasm  that  is  often  sadly  want- 
ing? What  earnestness  can  you  expect  of 
an  indolent  body  or  a  white  and  emaciated 
body  ?  We  must  not  allow  education  to  be  a 
system  of  emasculation.  We  must  not  cut  the 
roots  of  our  life.  As  the  tree  that  sends  its 
roots  deepest  and  widest  into  the  earth  will 
grow  farthest  toward  the  heavens,  so  the  high- 
est success  in  the  Gospel  ministry  —  other 
things  equal  —  will  result  from  the  soundest, 
most    vigorous,   physical   life.     The    preacher 


344     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

above  all  other  men  needs  this  full  vitality. 
Lyman  Beecher  sawed  wood  and  shovelled 
sand.  Spurgeon  made  wide  use  of  the  geolo- 
gist's hammer.  The  widespread  interest  in 
physical  training  is  one  of  the  most  hopeful 
signs  of  the  times.  The  words  of  Horace 
Bushnell  in  his  sermon  on  "  Duty  not  measured 
by  our  Own  Ability  "  are  especially  applicable 
to  the  gain  of  physical  earnestness  by  exertion. 
"The  physical  weakness  of  some  men  will  be 
the  great  crime  of  their  life,  and  they  will  be 
held  answerable  for  it  on  the  simple  ground 
that  they  had  too  little  courage  and  were  too 
self-indulgent  to  throw  themselves  on  any  such 
undertaking  as  a  true  Christian  manliness 
required." 

The  question  may  be  asked,  Shall  we  feign 
earnestness  of  voice  and  manner,  when  we  do 
not  feel  earnest,  and  when  the  audience  is  not 
in  sympathy  with  such  expression  ?  It  might 
as  well  be  asked,  Shall  we  do  right  when  we 
do  not  feel  like  it?  Do  we  omit  prayer  be- 
cause in  a  particular  case  the  heart  may  not  be 
in  it? 

It  is  right  to  be  earnest ;  such  a  delivery  alone 
is  in  keeping  with  the  truth  to  be  expressed, 
and  it  is  the  only  way  to  take  captive  the  hearts 
of  men  for  the  truth  of  Christ. 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     345 

A  final  element  of  effective  delivery  may  be 
called  adaptability. 

It  is  the  harmony  of  the  inner  and  the  outer 
world  in  speaking;  it  considers  the  fitness  of 
time  and  place  ;  it  is  the  graduation  of  voice  and 
manner  to  the  varying  shade  of  thought  and 
feeling,  and  the  varying  need  of  the  audience. 

It  is  absurd  for  a  man  to  strain  and  exhaust 
himself  for  a  little  company  that  can  be  reached 
far  better  by  the  ordinary  tones  of  conversation, 
while  to  make  the  great   congregation  of    St. 
Paul's  hear,  Canon  Liddon  had  to  use  his  voice 
to  utter  exhaustion.      One  man  goes  through 
his  sermon  with  no  reserve  power,  —  the  con- 
stant blare  of  the  trumpet  — just  the  voice  to 
rouse  to  action,  —  but  too  loud  for  the  finer  notes 
of  pity  and  pathos.  Another  voice  pure  and  musi- 
cal, delicately  expressive  of  the  finer  feelings, 
never   swells  in  triumph  or  strikes   sharp  and 
strong  the  blows  of  indignation  and  judgment. 
Now  it  is  evident  that  the  highest  pulpit  effi- 
ciency demands  a  varied  use,  a  wise  adaptation 
to  the  necessities  of  thought  and  person.     The 
delivery  must  be  versatile  and  many-sided. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  adaptability  de- 
mands the  training  and  control  of  the  organs  of 
speech,  in  fact,  the  whole  person.  And  even 
more  vitally,  I  think,  does  it  depend  upon  a  culti- 


346     The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

vated  judgment.  The  ear  must  be  trained  and 
the  taste  formed  for  right  and  fitting  expres- 
sion. We  must  not  be  afraid  of  criticism,  espe- 
cially of  honest  and  rigorous  self-criticism.  We 
must  keep  track  of  ourselves,  know  what  we  are 
about,  until  the  standard  is  clear  and  fixed,  and 
the  obedience  becomes  natural;  then  to  lose 
self  in  the  mastery  of  thought  and  the  passion 
to  help  men  is  both  a  joy  and  a  power. 

I  am  sure  that  the  qualities  here  named  will 
commend  themselves  to  all  thoughtful  minds 
as  the  essential  elements  of  the  highest  pulpit 
efficiency.  How  shall  we  possess  them  ?  The 
answer  points  to  the  way  of  patient  exercise 
and  growth. 

And  along  the  pathway  of  attainment  I  know 
of  no  single  faculty  whose  use  is  so  constantly 
demanded  as  the  will. 

A  bad  tone  is  a  vice  —  to  be  cured  like  any 
other  vice  —  by  the  use  of  the  will. 

A  slovenly  formation  of  words,  indistinct,  pre- 
cipitant, slurring  articulation,  is  a  physical  de- 
fect, the  result  of  carelessness  or  anxiety.  It 
can  be  cured  by  turning  the  will  upon  the  vocal 
organs,  and  controlling  them  and  compelling 
them  to  do  their  proper  work. 

Wendell  Phillips  once  said  to  a  friend  that 
he  learned  how  to  make  an  audience  hear  and 


The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking     347 

heed  him  by  their  attempt  to  make  him  hear 
and  heed  them.  The  more  they  would  not  lis- 
ten, the  more  he  determined  that  they  should 
hear  what  he  had  to  say.  It  was  a  rare  train- 
ing in  distinctness,  in  articulate  earnestness,  in 
self-reliance,  in  the  use  of  the  will.  And  I  men- 
tion him  here  as  the  shining  example  of  what 
a  passionate  and  exclusive  devotion  to  public 
speaking  will  accomplish  —  how  this  art,  the 
only  one  used  by  Him  who  spake  as  never  man 
spake,  will  reward  its  faithful  servants. 

The  exercise  of  the  will  is  sometimes  slow  in 
bearing  fruit.  Success  comes  slowly,  and  de- 
spair sometimes  comes  before  success.  But  we 
will  not  lower  our  ideal  because  it  is  still  far  in 
the  advance.  We  will  bring  a  consecrated  will 
to  bear  upon  our  faculties  of  speech  that  they 
may  be  trained  into  the  highest  efficiency. 

It  is  well  for  a  minister  to  repeat  for  his 
moral  strength  (and  the  words  apply  to  the 
art  of  pulpit  speech  as  truly  as  to  any  other 
art)  the  Sonnet  of  Wordsworth  to  his  young 
friend  Haydon : 

"  High  is  our  calling,  Friend !     Creative  Art 
(Whether  the  instrument  of  words  she  use 
Or  pencil  pregnant  with  ethereal  hues) 
Demands  the  service  of  a  mind  and  heart, 
Though  sensitive,  yet,  in  their  weakest  part, 


348      The  Elements  of  Effective  Speaking 

Heroically  fashioned  —  to  infuse 

Faith  in  the  whispers  of  the  lonely  Muse, 

While  the  whole  world  seems  adverse  to  desert. 

And  oh !  when  Nature  sinks,  as  oft  she  may, 

Through  long-lived  pressure  of  obscure  distress, 

Still  to  be  strenuous  for  the  bright  reward, 

And  in  the  soul  admit  of  no  decay, 

Brook  no  continuance  of  weak-mindedness  — 

Great  is  the  glory,  for  the  strife  is  hard ! " 


INDEX 


Abbott,  Lyman,  on  the  author- 
ity of  the  message,  37 ;  the 
authority  of  the  preacher, 
269. 

Action,  personal  quality  of,  in 
speaking,  330. 

Adaptability,  an  element  of  ef- 
fective speaking,  345. 

Age,  the,  three  characteristics 
of,  5;  social  interest  of,  7; 
the  critical  spirit  of,  8. 

Alcott,  Mr.  Bronson,  words 
concerning  the  essays  of  Em- 
erson, 16. 

Ambrose,  preaching  of,  14. 

Anecdotes,  wrong  use  of,  250. 

Apologies,  satire  on,  206. 

Apostles,  their  work  as  preach- 
ers, 11. 

Appeals,  indirect  in  the  form  of 
lessons,  199 ;  illustrations  as, 
203;  direct  or  exhortation, 
200. 

Argument,  the  limit  of,  226; 
positive  use  of,  226;  should 
begin  with  admitted  truth, 
228;  changed  emphasis  in, 
230;  the  short  road  in,  232; 
the  difficulty  of  continuous, 
233;  illustration  as,  233;  the 
popular,  234;  refutation  in, 
234;  sincerity  in,  235. 

Aristotle,  words  of,  concerning 
the  introduction,  161. 

Arnot,  William,  plan  of  sermon 
on  Ps.  xlviii.  3, 178. 

Augustine,  reference  to  the 
preaching  of,  13. 


Baxter,  Richard, protest  against 
wrong  use  of  humor,  135. 

Beecher,  H.  W.,  preaching  of, 
14,  61 ;  persuasion  the  note 
of  preaching,  31 ;  use  of  a 
note-book,  64;  study  of  men, 
77,  78 ;  the  preacher  to  illus- 
trate the  Divine  Nature,  225 ; 
the  force  of  reasoning  in 
preaching,  229;  illustration 
as  argument,  233 ;  his  fertile 
imagination,  245;  on  variety 
in  illustrations,  251 ;  training 
in  the  use  of  illustration, 
256 ;  written  or  extemporane- 
ous sermons,  292 ;  extempore 
preaching  a  natural  method, 
298. 

Behrends,  A.  J.  F.,  concerning 
the  proper  use  of  the  Bible, 
57. 

Bible,  inductive  study  of,  9; 
study  of,  for  preaching,  51 ; 
study  of  the  original  lan- 
guages, 53;  need  of  study 
from  the  tendencies  of  or- 
ganization and  criticism,  54, 
55;  chief  source  of  illustra- 
tions, 252. 

Biography ,  study  of,  for  preach- 
ing, 74. 

Bohemians,  of  Chicago,  8. 

Boyd-Carpenter,  Bishop,  ad- 
vice as  to  writing,  119;  use 
of  imagination  in  preaching, 
241. 

Bright,  John,  the  preparation 
of  the  introduction,  159. 


349 


350 


Index 


Broadus,  John  A.,  cautions  con- 
cerning explanation,  213; 
reference  to  oral  style,  311. 

Brooks,  Phillips,  preaching  of, 
14,  61 ;  preaching  as  an  art, 
33;  concerning  great  ser- 
mons, 43 ;  use  of  a  note-book, 
65;  the  individual  nature  of 
the  sermon,  88;  the  selec- 
tion of  the  topic,  89;  words 
on  the  plan,  109;  choice  of 
great  themes,  136 ;  three  con- 
siderations as  to  the  sermon's 
topic,  141 ;  force  and  beauty 
of  his  illustrations,  245; 
makes  truth  splendid,  248; 
on  tolerance,  267. 

Brougham,  Lord,  the  relation 
of  writing  to  speaking,  282. 

Browning,  Robert,  "  It  were  to 
be  wished  the  flaws  were 
fewer,"  34;  "But  why  such 
long  prolusion  and  delay," 
162. 

Bushnell,  Horace,  the  preach- 
ing of,  61 ;  relations  between 
text  and  theme  in  his  ser- 
mons, 104;  use  of  pictorial 
words,  245;  quotation  from 
"  Duty  not  measured  by  our 
ability,"  344. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  words  con- 
cerning the  preacher,  8. 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  powers  of 
illustration,  243. 

Channing,  W.  E.,  use  of  cumu- 
lative definition,  221. 

Christ,  his  training  of  preach- 
ers, 11 ;  what  is  it  to  preach  ? 
38. 

Chrysostom,  preaching  of,  13. 

Church,  the,  in  America,  8; 
organized  labor  and,  8. 

Church,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  on 
the  true  rule  of  writing,  116. 


Coe,  George  A.,  fear  as  a  motive 
of  religion,  265. 

Conclusion,  importance  of,  197 ; 
different  kinds  of,  198 ;  gen- 
eral qualities  of,  205. 

Culture,  relation  of,  to  the  min- 
ister's preparation,  69;  to 
preserve  the  balance  of  mind, 
69;  to  interpret  the  Bible, 
70;  to  influence  men,  71;  to 
furnish  materials  for  ser- 
mons, 72. 

Dale,  R.  W.,  the  message  from 
God,  36 ;  use  of  a  note-book, 
64;  experience  of  the  truth, 
98 ;  on  extempore  preaching, 
276 ;  the  language  for  an  ora- 
tor, 304. 

Da  Vinci,  Leonardo,  story  of 
"  The  Last  Supper,"  34. 

Definition,  importance  of,  218; 
difference  between  definition 
and  judgment,  219;  direct 
and  indirect,  220. 

Delivery,  in  reading  sermons, 
286;  the  personal  quality  in 
extempore  preaching,  297. 

Description,  216. 

Development,  the  analytic 
method  of,  173 ;  the  synthetic, 
174;  the  topical,  176;  the 
textual,  177;  general  prin- 
ciple of,  179;  the  steps  of, 
181 ;  by  propositions,  181 ;  by 
explanations,  181 ;  by  obser- 
vations, 182;  by  examples, 
182 ;  the  special  laws  of,  183 ; 
effective  qualities  in,  187. 

Directness,  an  element  of  effec- 
tive speaking,  339 ;  the  effect 
of,  340;  relation  to  manner 
of  the  pulpit,  341. 

Distinctness,  the  first  element 
of  good  speaking,  333 ;  enun- 
ciation the  first  requirement 


Index 


351 


of,  333 ;  includes  proper  pro- 
nunciation, 334;  opposed  to 
misplaced  and  excessive  em- 
phasis, 335 ;  means  sufficient 
volume  of  voice,  336. 

Divisions,  vital  force  of,  183; 
distinct  character  of,  183; 
the  style  of,  184;  the  order 
of,  184;  announcement  of, 
185 ;  recapitulation  of,  186. 

Dogmatic  versus  positive 
preaching,  266. 

Earnestness,  an  element  of 
effective  speaking,  342;  the 
physical  element  of,  343. 

Eliot,  George,  the  criticism  of 
George  Dawson,  66;  picture 
of  the  two  ministers,  269. 

Elocution,  distinction  between 
dramatic  and  practical,  332. 

Exaggeration,  fault  of  the 
American  pulpit,  281. 

Explanation,  of  the  text,  212; 
of  facts,  214;  of  ideas,  218; 
need  of  positive,  213. 

Extemporaneous  preaching, 
definition  of,  291 ;  advantages 
of,  293 ;  demanded  by  certain 
occasions,  297 ;  disadvan- 
tages, 299 ;  conditions  of  suc- 
cess, 299;  ease  and  fruitful- 
ness  of  method,  298. 

Farrar,  F.  W.,  quotations  from 
the  poets,  73. 

Foxell,  W.  J.,  the  loss  of  an- 
ticipation in  preannouncing 
the  plan,  186. 

God,  fact  of,  assumed  in  preach- 
ing, 225. 

Gough,  J.  B.,  caricature  of 
textual  divisions,  178. 

Gowan,  Joseph,  originality  and 
plagiarism,  96. 


Guthrie,  Thomas,  the  prince 
of  illustrators,  244;  words  of 
Lord  Jeffrey  concerning  the 
illustrations,  244 ;  his  three 
P's,  244;  habit  of  writing, 
323. 

Health,  relation  to  success  in 
preaching,  300. 

Henson,  H.  P.,  the  story  of 
refutation,  234. 

History,  study  of,  for  preach- 
ing, 72;  use  of,  to  enforce 
truth,  253. 

Hitchcock,  R.  D.,  plan  of  ser- 
mon on  Mark  ii.  7,  181 ;  the 
atonement,  145 ;  extract  from 
the  "Staff  of  Life,"  319. 

Homiletics,  study  of,  as  the 
special  preparation  for 
preaching,  59. 

Horton,  H.  F.,  eloquence  in  the 
sermon,  44;  the  snare  of 
eloquence,  302. 

Huxley,  on  clearness  of  style, 
117. 

Illustrations,  importance  of, 
241;  proved  by  the  history 
of  language,  242 ;  seen  in  the 
world  of  nature  and  man, 
243;  the  masters  of,  243; 
uses  of,  246;  laws  for  the 
use  of,  249 ;  variety  of,  251 ; 
sources  of,  252 ;  use  of  hand- 
books of,  254 ;  the  power  of, 
can  be  gained,  256;  make 
clear,  246 ;  give  force  to  truth, 
247;  give  splendor  to  truth, 
247;  help  the  memory,  248; 
stimulate  the  imagination, 
249. 

Interpretation,  duty  of  true, 
143;  chief  sources  of  error 
in,  144 ;  examples  of  fanciful, 
149;  proper  ways  of  spiritu- 


352 


Index 


alizing,  150;  laws  of,  151; 
inferential  lessons  of,  152. 

Interrogation,  the  use  of,  322; 
a  personal  appeal,  322 ;  rela- 
tion to  the  use  of  the  voice, 
323. 

Introduction,  The,  importance 
of,  159;  threefold  object  of, 
160;  important  qualities  as 
to  thought,  162;  as  to  style, 
165 ;  should  there  be  illustra- 
tions in?  166;  the  varieties 
of,  167;  the  sources  of,  168; 
when  should  it  be  prepared  ? 
169. 

James,  John  Angell,  concerning 
preaching,  30;  on  the  read- 
ing of  the  sermon,  283. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  the  use  of 
repetition,  295. 

Kingsley,  Charles,  words  as  to 
the  present  age,  5;  direct 
message  of,  33 ;  preaching  of, 
60 ;  his  study  of  men,  77. 

Lacordaire,  perils  of  the  ex- 
tempore preacher,  299. 

Liddon,  Canon,  preaching  of, 
14,  60 ;  method  of  refutation, 
234. 

Literature,  English,  study  of, 
for  preaching,  75 ;  as  a  source 
of  pulpit  illustration,  253. 

Luther,  ideal  of  the  preacher, 
19. 

Mabie,  Hamilton,  essays  of,  4. 
Macdonald,  George,  the  right 

effort  of  the  preacher  to  give 

the  positive,  237. 
Macintosh,  J.  S.,  a  plea  for  pure 

English,  335. 
Maclaren,       Alexander,       the 

preaching   of,   60;    plan    of 


sermon  on  Mk.  vii.  33-34, 150 ; 
aptness  of  illustration,  244; 
extract  from  the  "  Awaken- 
ing of  Zion,"  318. 

Magee,  Dr. ,  Archbishop  of  York , 
singleness  of  thought  in  the 
sermon,  192;  arrangement 
the  secret  of  attracting  atten- 
tion, 193. 

Manuscript,  preaching  with, 
275;  disadvantages  of,  285; 
conditions  of  success  with, 
287. 

Materialism,  of  the  age,  6. 

Matheson,  George,  relation  of 
conviction  to  emotion,  202. 

McCheyne,  R.  M.,  the  law  of 
appeals,  207. 

McNeill,  John,  the  style  of,  341. 

Meditation,  in  the  preparation 
of  the  sermon,  97. 

Men,  study  of,  for  preaching, 
76. 

Method,  relation  of  circum- 
stances to,  277 ;  should  be 
individual,  306. 

Morgan,  G.  Campbell,  concern- 
ing the  study  of  the  Bible, 
52. 

Movement,  the  meaning  of,  191 ; 
the  hindrances  to,  191 ;  helps 
to,  191. 

Munger,  T.  T.,  concerning  the 
themes  of  Horace  Bushnell, 
104. 

Narration,  214. 

Nature,  study  of,  for  preaching, 
74;  fruitful  field  of  illustra- 
tion, 252 ;  most  effective  illus- 
trations from  human,  253. 

Neesima,  Joseph,  on  enthu- 
siasm, 271. 

Nicol,  Robertson,  lesson  from 
the  religious  census  of  Lon- 
don, 17. 


Index 


353 


Order,  the  gain  of,  190;  demands 
of,  190. 

Parker,  Joseph,  words  concern- 
ing experience,  33. 

Paxton-Hood,  E.,  the  labor  of 
extempore  preaching,  302. 

Persuasion,  the  personal  ele- 
ment in,  260 ;  the  element  of, 
courage,  263;  simplicity  an 
element  of,  261;  of  positive 
preaching,  267;  in  the  sense 
of  message,  269;  of  manner, 
270;  of  enthusiasm,  270;  the 
Gospel  motives  of,  266. 

Phelps,  Austin,  definition  of 
the  sermon,  35;  effect  of  de- 
livery on  style,  314 ;  elements 
of  oral  style,  314. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  extract  from 
"  The  Murder  of  Lovejoy," 
317 ;  his  training  in  speaking, 
346. 

Philosophy,  the  study  of,  for 
preaching,  73. 

Pierson,  A.  T.,  plea  for  allitera- 
tion, 184. 

Pitt,  William,  the  use  of  repe- 
tition, 295;  anxiety  ahout 
ideas  more  than  words,  304. 

Plan,  present  dislike  of  formal, 
108;  the  need  of,  109;  plan- 
making  a  help  to  the 
preacher,  110;  influence  on 
style,  109;  needed  in  extem- 
pore preaching,  111 ;  neglect 
of  the  loss  of  constructive 
power,  112;  a  help  to  the 
hearer,  113;  what  aimed  at 
in  plan,  114;  growth  in  sim- 
plicity of,  115;  howmade?  116; 
in  extempore  preaching,  303. 

Pleasure-seeking,  characteris- 
tic of  the  age,  6. 

Prayer,  in  the  preparation  of 
the  sermon,  97. 

2a 


Preaching,  importance  of,  3; 
forces  hostile  to,  5;  Scripture 
warrant  for,  10;  the  chief 
work  of  the  Apostles,  11 ; 
testimony  of  the  Church  to, 
12;  and  the  spiritual  eras, 
14;  reasons  for  the  perpetu- 
ity of,  15;  ideal  of,  23;  the 
Keformation  and,  27;  the 
preparation  for,  49 ;  the  two 
different  methods  of  prepar- 
ing for,  50;  theory  of,  62; 
the  practice  of,  66 ;  with  man- 
uscript, 275 ;  memoriter,  305 ; 
without  manuscript,  291 ; 
method  of  "free  speaking," 
306. 

Prophets,  as  preachers,  10. 

Pulpit,  forces  that  lessen  the 
importance  of  its  work,  3; 
civilization  and  the,  13; 
Christianity  has  created  the, 
13 ;  and  the  higher  life  of  so- 
ciety, 14;  influence  of  the 
Scotch,  30. 

Refutation,  when  used,  234; 
incidental,  234;  cannot  he 
ignored,  235;  sincere  in,  235. 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  protest  against 
sensationalism  in  pulpit  ad- 
vertising, 132. 

Repetition,  the  need  of,  295; 
use  of,  hy  lawyers,  296. 

Robertson,  F.  W.,  the  preach- 
ing of,  60 ;  lectures  on  poetry 
for  workingmen,  76;  the 
stimulus  from  other  minds, 
96,  249;  plan  of  sermon  on 
1  John  ii.  15-17,  181;  the 
poet's  gift,  244. 

Sermons,  of  the  Apostles,  27; 
of  the  Early  Fathers,  27;  of 
the  18th  and  19th  centuries, 
28 ;  our  age  and  the,  28 ;  char- 
acteristics of  true,  29;  mes- 


354 


Index 


sage  of  the,  35;  authority 
of,  36;  the  aim  of,  40;  the 
method  of,  42;  stilted  idea 
of,  42;  the  reading  of,  60; 
individual  method  of  prepa- 
ration, 87;  the  seed-thought 
of,  89 ;  the  growth  of,  92 ;  the 
structure  of,  99;  expression 
of,  116;  topical,  176;  textual, 
177;  advantages  of  written, 
278. 

Shedd,  W.  G.  T.,  on  needless 
divisions,  183;  singleness  of 
appeal,  204. 

Simplicity,  an  element  of  effec- 
tive speaking,  337 ;  how  cul- 
tivated? 338. 

Speaking,  personal  elements  of 
effective,  327 ;  impersonal  ele- 
ments of,  332. 

Spurgeon,  Charles,  preaching 
of,  14, 60 ;  use  of  a  note-book, 
63;  plan  of  sermon  on  Mk. 
vii.  33-34,  149 ;  his  feathered 
arrows,  244. 

Stalker,  James,  the  element  of 
time  in  thinking,  99 ;  preach- 
ing to  conscience,  202. 

Stearns,  L.  T.,  the  task  of  mod- 
ern apologetics,  231 ;  relation 
between  orthodox  theology 
and  the  unbelief  of  an  age, 
236. 

Storrs,  R.  S.,  experience  in  ex- 
tempore preaching,  277;  the 
source  of  enthusiasm,  305; 
the  effect  of  directness  upon 
the  preacher,  339. 

Style,  The  Oral,  distinction  be- 
tween, and  the  essay,  311 ;  ex- 
amples of,  317 ;  marks  of,  321. 

Taylor,  William  M.,  plan  of  a 
sermon  on  1  Kings  xix.  12, 
182;  on  memoriter  preach- 
ing, 276. 


Tennyson,  Lord,  words  to 
Benjamin  Jowett  concerning 
Hebrew,  54. 

Text,  reasons  for  the  use  of  a 
text  in  preaching,  123;  in- 
fluence on  authority  of  the 
sermon,  123;  promotes  the 
study  of  the  Scriptures,  124; 
help  to  memory,  124;  limits 
the  subject  of  the  sermon, 
126;  gives  unity  to  preach- 
ing, 127;  promotes  variety, 
127 ;  must  the  sermon  always 
have  a  text?  129;  general 
rules  for  the  choice  of,  130 ; 
a  genuine  text,  130;  a  com- 
plete thought  of  the  writer, 
131 ;  an  important  thought, 
133;  suggestive  forms,  137; 
familiar  texts,  137;  long  or 
short  texts,  138 ;  double  texts, 
138;  the  orderly  choice  of, 
138;  reasons  for  the  choice 
of  a  particular  text,  140; 
failure  to  understand  lan- 
guage of,  144;  disregard  for 
the  context  of,  146 ;  improper 
spiritualizing  of,  147 ;  history 
of  improper  spiritualizing, 
148. 

Theme,  relation  of  subject  and, 
99;  the  need  of,  100;  shall  it 
be  stated?  101;  relation  to 
text  and  sermon,  102;  the 
forming  of  the  theme,  104; 
the  wording  of,  106;  the 
striking  themes  of  strong 
preachers,  108. 

Unity,  nature  of,  187;  condi- 
tions of,  188;  violations  of, 
188 ;  advantages  of,  189. 

Vincent,  M.  R.,  a  description 

of  character,  216. 
Vinet,  the  Christian  character 

of    the  sermon,  129;  should 


Index 


355 


the  text  be  a  complete  thought 
of  Scripture  ?  132. 
Voice,  the  personal  quality  of, 
329. 

Ward,  Mrs.  E.  S.  Phelps,  words 
concerning  the  joy  of  speak- 
ing the  Gospel,  18. 

Watkinson,  W.  L.,  "truths  on 
the  stocks,"  93. 

Watson,  Dr.  John,  humanity  a 
canon  for  the  sermon,  80; 
satire  on  the  use  of  hand- 
books of  illustration.  254. 


r 


Wesley,  John,  words  concern- 
ing preaching  Christ,  37 ;  re- 
quiring young  preachers  to 
study  Spenser,  255. 

Will,  in  preaching,  31 ;  use  of, 
in  extempore  preaching,  301 ; 
use  of,  to  correct  defects, 
346. 

Wordsworth,  William,  quota- 
tion from  "  Lines  left  upon  a 
Seat  in  a  Yew  Tree,"  82 ;  Son- 
net to  Haydon,  347. 


1   1012  01058  6438 


Date  Due 

REsew^iiMP* 

UEmta 

.  nilKiiiriir- 

RES8HK 

'         ^ 

l^  ^fryy 

i  3  '41 

OluA 

E 

f 

Ja  1  5  '* 

V 

■ 

^^ttUT', 

' 

41       (\         I 

L 

•^ec^Fp** 

'  >l  BJ.  ■  fl  lM  L\  - 

/ rS  I' 

- 

^ 

4      ^ 

■ 

■ 

5 

Ji'ALULT'l 

• 

•>*  \  4  ^ 

■      1 1 

m 

;  ::- 

- 

f) 

III! 

PH 

no 


Hi 


amass!® 

H 
Hi 


